Made Man
by Tidia
Summary: ATF/AU Vin goes undercover with a crime family and has no contact with the team causing repercussions. Originally posted in 1999 with new ending.
1. Chapter 1

Made Man  
_An ATF/AU_

* * *

Disclaimer: The Magnificent Seven do not belong to me.  
Author's Notes: A huge thank you to Madame Beta Reader Extrodinaire, MOG. Some things you need to know, a made man is a man officially in the mob family because he has killed someone. In addition Giuseppe is Italian for Joe. Thank yous also to Tannersgirl, Jo and Cassie for their advice

* * *

Maria had already heard about the bust which the agents were bringing into processing. Team 7 had been the key in the operation. The group had gained much notoriety in the processing unit of the federal building. Each of the young women were enchanted with the seven men. Truth be told if Maria wasn't happily married to her Allen, she'd be drooling too. Even their leader, Agent Chris Larabee, who was always ominous in black was intriguing. He had already come in to discuss how he wanted the interrogations of the criminals to proceed, and when he left, Maria wanted to know what made the man so driven, but it would have to wait for another day.

The well dressed agent came in first. Ezra pushed an equally fashionable man in handcuffs in front of him to the desk where Maria was working.

"Agent Standish, this guy has a better wardrobe than you," Maria exclaimed. She was always amazed at the agent's clothes and all of the clerks wanted to take a peek at his expense account.

Ezra looked at his prisoner in disgust, his green eyes flashing, "Armani suit, Ferragammo loafers. All quite passe." He gestured to his own meticulously cut Brioni suit and Gucci shoes.

"Agent Larabee said put him in interrogation room two," the clerk laughed, but she sobered up when Buck roughly shoved the next criminal forward. Agent Wilmington was usually the most congenial, always flirting with the clerks. In fact he had dated many of the single clerks since he had been assigned to the Denver office. Maria could not recollect a time when she had seen such silent rage in the man. There was no mischievous glint in his eyes today. The perpetrator winced as his arm hit the desk.

The long haired man turned around and only Maria heard, "ease up, Buck."

The agent gave him a hard look. Maria could feel the tension, and wanted to remove it as quickly as possible, "Interrogation room five," she said, and watched as Buck pulled the back of the man's suede jacket and propelled him forward.

* * *

Chris stood outside the door of the interrogation room. He had left him stewing in there long enough, and Larabee knew how much he hated small spaces. Chris swiped his card through the magnetic scanner and the door opened with a loud buzz.

There in front of him was seated his best friend. Vin's brown suede jacket was resting behind him on a chair, leaving Tanner wearing a gray long sleeve t-shirt and well-worn jeans. Chris hadn't seen him in two weeks, and he silently evaluated the marksman in front of him, and thought about the nightmare they suddenly had found themselves in.

Vin stood up, giving Chris time to silently look him over, but concern was etched in his blue eyes, and finally Tanner broke the silence.

"How's the kid?"

Chris shook his head and took the seat opposite Vin, "He's still unconscious."

Tanner gripped the edge of the table and sat back down. "No one was supposed to get hurt," Vin whispered, looking at his friend for comfort, and to ease some of the guilt.

"What happened Vin?" The marksman did not answer, he was lost momentarily in his own thoughts. But, Chris needed answers. He needed to know his team was not falling apart. He needed to know he had not been wrong about Vin. He pressed Tanner further, "Did your friend make you an offer?"

Tanner snapped his eyes up to meet Chris. "My friend?" The words came out forcefully, Vin got up and began to pace the room. He did not understand what Chris was talking about.

Chris watched his friend, knowing he felt like a caged animal. Larabee ran a hand through his blonde hair trying to remove the doubt creeping into his brain. Vin was acting like a guilty man. He sighed,

"All I know is, you go in undercover and then JD goes in to check on you and now he's hurt. I need to know what happened," Chris said, knowing the full impact of what he had said would anger his agent.

Tanner wanted to explode. In a controlled voice he asked Chris, "And you think I've gone bad?" Vin couldn't even look at his friend, finally he understood. He looked up to the ceiling, shaking his head. "Damn it, Chris you were there two weeks ago when this all started."

* * *

**2 WEEKS EARLIER**:...

Seated in the conference room around the dark wooden table sat the seven ATF agents. Ezra pulled the jacket of his suit down as he stood up to inform the group of his latest information. He already told Chris Larabee, the leader, what his informant had told him, and the lead agent wanted to form a plan with the other members of the group.

Chris opened up the meeting. "Seems as though Dominic Cuoco Jr. is looking for an assassin." Larabee always got right to the point.

Buck snickered, "Did they run out of made men?"

Ezra cleared his throat and glared at Buck to be silent. Wilmington motioned for Standish to continue.

"We know Dom Junior, heir apparent to the Cuoco family," the room darkened and a slide of a man with slicked back hair, and olive colored skin, appeared on the screen in the back of the room, "is looking for someone not connected to the Family. Dom Senior," another slide came up, with a short, plump man, "gave him the family's import/export business to cut his teeth on, while Senior runs the rest of the empire." Another slide of both men appeared, and Ezra was just about to move when Vin stood up.

"Ezra, hold up," Tanner went to the back of the room to study the slide. He pointed to a man in the corner of the frame. "Who's that?" All the men squinted to view what Vin had seen. The group knew he always saw things they missed.

"I believe that is Dominic Junior's enforcer, Eli Giuseppe." Ezra said finally, joining Vin in the back of the room to get a closer look.

"You know him?" Chris asked, wondering where in Vin's past he had met this man. He was the sharpshooter's best friend, and even though they could read each other's thoughts at times, he still knew there was an air of mystery and darkness which surrounded the marksman.

Tanner looked at each man as if he were judging them, with a look to Larabee he seemed to have made up his mind. "He was in my unit in special ops." He didn't talk about his army days, first of all since most of the missions were black ops and therefore classified, but secondly the army had left a bad taste in his mouth. He did not want to relive his tour.

"What can you tell us about him?" Nathan asked. He as well as the others knew very little about Vin's past and this was a strange occasion where Vin actually divulged some information.

The sharpshooter sat back down and made himself comfortable in one of the overstuffed office chairs, giving him time to sort what information to give his friends. "Joey, that's what the unit called him, was the strategic planner, and he was good at what he did." He added, "We got along okay. He did his job and I did mine."

Ezra was beaming as he sat back down in his chair, opposite Vin, "This is most fortuitous. We need someone to go in undercover," Standish focused his green eyes directly at Tanner.

"Ezra, I thought you were the undercover man?" JD inquired, confused as to why Standish was not jumping at the chance to help take down a major mob figure.

The group snickered. Buck tried to control his choking laughter and was finally able to tell JD,

"We thought his last dealings with the Cuoco family were gonna end up with him wearing cement shoes."

JD was still puzzled, and waited for one of the members of the team to fill in the rest of the story.

Ezra finally stammered out, "I should have known that a woman who wears Dolce and Gabbana would be the daughter of a mob boss." The agent intently focused on an piece of lint on his dark jacket while he thought about Bianca Corelli Couco.

He had met her at Kiki's, a popular bar for the posh set. She was beautiful and stylish. Her short, black hair accenting her large brown eyes. They struck up a conversation, and she gave her name as Bianca Corelli, Corelli he found out later was her mother's maiden name. He introduced himself as Ezra Simpson. They ended up at her place for what he believed would be a one night stand. It was a one night stand which stretched into a week. By the end of the week she wanted him to meet her father, some capital of industry in the import/export business. Ezra remembered all of Maude's lessons, especially the one, 'have friends in high places.' He was supposed to meet them at Massimo's, a small Italian eatery after work. He told her he was involved with the bonds market. He parked the Jag and saw Bianca through the glass window, sitting next to a man the FBI had been after for years, Dominic Cuoco. He left quickly, thinking the man was probably going to call a hit on him for standing up his daughter and himself, and any chances of him being involved in taking down the Cuoco family had disintegrated. Of course disintegration was actually preferable compared to the scathing he received from Chris, which ended with,

"in the future Ezra, think with your brains and not Ezra Junior."

Ezra could still hear Buck chuckling. He controlled himself momentarily to pass on advice to JD, "See kid, the lesson you need to remember is never pursue a lady wearing fancy clothes." At that point Buck's mustache began to twitch and he started laughing again.

JD felt his face split open with a huge grin. It wasn't often that Ezra got embarrassed, and Dunne along with the rest of the men were enjoying themselves at his expense.

"Needless to say, due to Bianca Cuoco's amorous attentions, I am not available at this juncture." Standish glared at the men, who were composing themselves. "But Agent Tanner has a past relationship with Mister Giuseppe, and the qualifications required."

Chris looked down momentarily at the information in front of him. He had to make the decision on whether or not to send Tanner into one of the fiercest crime families. The Cuoco family had moved from New York in the seventies. They believed the climate in Colorado would better for them weather and criminal activities wise. They settled in the Four Corners district, when it was a small community, and built a huge compound on acres of land. The family was involved with gambling, prostitution and arms dealings. All the federal agencies had tried to bring them down, but to no avail. The Cuoco family ran a tight ship. This had been their first lead. However, Chris did not want to lose his best friend, and he would be asking him to take a huge risk. Luckily Vin had already decided.

"Chris, I can do it." Vin looked directly at his leader giving him a slight nod.

"We need to know who he wants to kill," Chris said to Vin, "and the bonus would be any information on the Cuoco family's arms dealings."

"Understood," Vin said, getting up from the table as did the other men.

"Maybe the Cuoco family will fatten you up Vin," Buck threw a fake punch at Vin, which he easily sidestepped, "with all that Italian food and all."

* * *

Ezra immediately went to meet with Luca "The Snake" Mertolo, his informant. It had taken awhile for Ezra, or as he was known to those who frequented Cafe Giacomo, Ernesto Standi, to find a weak link in the Cuoco family. Finally he found Mister Mertolo, a minor soldier in the family loyal to young Dominic. Ezra had him convinced with a couple of Italian words and a New York accent that he was a paesano. Snake was not as Buck would have put it, 'the sharpest knife in the draw', but this was Ezra's only connection to the Cuoco family. Most of the time it was inconsequential information, but during their last meeting, even Luca knew he had said too much and swore Ezra to secrecy.

Standish sauntered into Giacomo's. The dimly lit dive, was nearly empty in the early afternoon hours, except for Luca at a corner table. He received his orders at the bar, usually he was forgotten though by the rest of the family. The bartender nodded to him, and prepared Ezra's usual, an espresso with Sambuca, which he brought to the table as Ezra sat down next to The Snake.

"Come sta Luca?" Standish said to the diminutive young man.

"Not too bad Ernesto," he took another sip of his wine. "Keeping out of trouble."

"Listen, Luca, about the other day. . . ." Ezra looked into the beady dark eyes to prompt the other man's memory.

Mertolo shook his head, "whatcha talking about?"

"About Junior needing some assistance. . ." Ezra said slowly.

Luca's beady eyes went wide, "Shhhhhh, Ernesto I told you to forget about it. Not for nothing, but I can get into a lot of trouble!" Mertolo rambled on, "I don't want to get into trouble. Boss says I'm supposed to stay out of the way and keep quiet."

Standish smiled at The Snake. "No, me," Ezra gestured to himself. "I would never want to get you in trouble Luca. I know someone who can do the job."

Mertolo leaned in closer to Ezra. His wine breath wafting around him as he spoke. "Oh yeah," he leaned back in his chair. "I don't wanna know about it."

"He's a friend of Eli Giuseppe. You'd be doing Joey a favor," Ezra knew this would be the hook for Luca, a chance to get into the boss's good graces. "The family would give you the attention you deserve."

Luca tapped his finger against his teeth. "What's the guy's name?"

Ezra knew he had him. "Vin Tanner," Ezra pretended to be thinking about fabricating a story on the spot for Luca. "Say, you overheard a conversation about a freelancer who was in town." Standish slipped The Snake a piece of paper with a phone number. "I took the liberty of acquiring his contact number."

Mertolo seized the paper and nodded. "You wait right here. I need to make a phone call," Luca walked into the back room. Ezra sat enjoying his espresso. He hated to use The Snake, but this seemed to be the only chance to bring down the Cuoco crime family. Ezra made a mental note to himself to make sure nothing would happen to Luca.

The Snake came back, his small form, puffed with pride. "Okay, the Boss says," Luca whispered to himself as if trying to say the word verbatim, "he's proud of me. He's gonna call the guy and set up a meeting for tomorrow morning, 10am, at Simmons Park, no guns and he comes alone."

"Bene," Ezra drained the last of the espresso and threw a ten down on the table. "Glad I was able to help you Luca. Don't forget about me when you are running your own territory."

"Yep, I'm going places," The Snake said as he put his arms behind his head as he built castles in the sky.

* * *

Standish exited the elevators, and found Chris, Vin and Josiah talking in the hallway between their offices. Ezra knew there was a smile plastered on his face. He waited for someone to say something about the phone call. They smiled back at him and exasperated he blurted out,

"Well?"

Vin leaned against the wall and drawled lazily, "Joey called. The meeting is for tomorrow at 10 am."

Chris looked at Standish, "Good job, Ezra."

Ezra had to smile back, it wasn't often Larabee offered praise, which made it all the more meaningful. "Actually we owe gratitude to my informant, The Snake."

Vin nodded as did Josiah. Chris clenched his fists and gritted out,

"The Snake?" You trusted a guy named Snake?" Larabee took a threatening step toward Standish. The well dressed man backed up and Sanchez stepped in between the two so Ezra would have a chance to explain.

"Seems as though Mister Mertolo has a tattoo of a snake, hence the name," Ezra felt like he needed to continue as Chris was trying to get around Josiah. "He is legitimate, he is the nephew of Dominic Senior's favorite aunt. He likes to converse, especially over a bottle of wine. Snake was originally nervous about setting up the meeting, but when he heard Vin and Joey were friends he quickly arranged the rendezvous, thus leading to the phone call."

Tanner had watched the proceedings and hadn't swept the smile off his face. He touched Chris's arm, "It's okay pard, I don't think Ezra is trying to get me killed."

"Surely, Agent Larabee, you do not believe I would jeopardize the life of a fellow agent?" Ezra said feigning offense at Larabee's intentions. Standish knew Chris was nervous about having his best friend go undercover. Even Ezra was a little worried, but he wasn't going to let Vin down. Standish would do anything to insure the safety of the quiet man, who he had grown fond of.

Tanner sensed the anxiety in the air. "Nah, Ez, Chris just doesn't like nicknames," Vin smirked at Chris, "remember when that guy called him a cowboy?" They all laughed, and the tension dissipated for the moment.

* * *

The next day Vin kept feeling Chris's eyes following him. He knew Larabee was worried, especially when he blew up at Ezra over the informant. Even last night when they went to the local saloon, Chris kept saying there was still time for him to back out. Vin assured him he would be careful and was secretly happy he was the only one going in. It was one thing to risk your life, another to have to worry about the life of someone you care about.

The rest of the team was bustling around him, enjoying some good nature bantering to expel the nervous energy in the air.

Sanchez handed him a chain with a medal attached.

"Thanks Josiah, who is it?" Vin said fingering the charm.

Josiah laughed, "Someone all of us should carry with us." Vin was still puzzled. "Saint Jude, the patron saint of lost causes."

"Agent Sanchez are you insinuating we are lost causes?" Ezra asked with his poker face.

"Not 'we' Ezra," Nathan commented, "just you."

Josiah shook his head and explained to Vin, "The medal is a tracker. When you want to warn us that something is going to happen, press it." Vin slipped the cool metal around his neck, and tucked it into his denim shirt.

"And we'll be there to arrest you," JD said, as he patted Vin on the back. Tanner would have to be arrested with the real criminals so his cover would not be blown. Vin had a feeling Dunne was going to be enjoying himself on that day, trying to get the quiet agent back for all the practical jokes he had played on the young man.

Larabee checked his watch. He had been doing that frequently as if counting down the minutes before his friend disappeared. "Let's go pards," Chris said, leading the way to the elevator.

Vin took a last look around the office, a feeling of dread came upon him which he quickly shook off. He joined his friends waiting for him on the elevator.

When they reached the garage Chris went over the directions once again. Vin would be going in without a wire because the Couco family would be scanning him, so there would be no support for the sharpshooter if things went sour.

"We'll give you a head start, and then we'll set out and watch from a distance to make sure everything goes okay."

"Got it," Vin looked at all the men. All their faces grim and filled with concern. None of them knew after this point what would happen, and how Vin would fair. He paused when he reached Chris.

"You be careful, cowboy," Larabee said, in a hushed tone.

Vin grinned, "Don't call me cowboy," and walked away from his friends to his Jeep.

* * *

Vin parked the Jeep and began walking to the park. From the distance he saw Eli Giuseppe was already there. The man hadn't changed much. He was about 6'2", a built man with a thick neck. His black hair was cut short, the same military style he sported all those years ago.

When he reached him Tanner stretched his hand out, which Joey firmly grasped.

"Joey, it's been a long time." Vin said, with a smile.

"Vin Tanner, always wondered what happened to you." Joey commented, looking over his friend with his flat brown eyes.

"Same here," Vin circled Joey, sizing him up the same way the enforcer had just done. Joey just smiled at him and shook his head. The request had been that Vin come unarmed, although he still carried a knife in his boot, but from the evident bulge in Joey's suit jacket, he was not following the same rules.

He then took out a gold lighter and lit a cigarette. The lighter closed with a clink, and he continued, "So this is your line of work now?"

"Yep, what can I say, I am good at what I do," Tanner said with a cocky attitude behind his words. It was the same attitude he had perfected during his stint with special ops.

Joey chuckled, "With our training you either become a cop or you get a job that pays the bills."

Vin laughed at the comment. Joey didn't realize how right he was.

The enforcer's face turned serious. The same face he would put on when he was telling the men about an upcoming mission. "I believe you have certain qualities which my employer has need of. You were the best sniper, and you were always quiet."

Vin nodded.

He slowly took another drag on his cigarette, "How much?"

Vin looked Joey right in the eye without blinking. "One hundred thousand now, placed in a Swiss bank account and one hundred thousand upon completion."

The enforcer threw the cigarette down and stamped it out with his tie-up leather shoes. He jutted out his chin, "You worth it?"

Vin let a lazy smile develop on his face. "I think you already know the answer to that Joey." Tanner handed Eli a card which contained his Swiss Bank account number. Ezra had set up the account for him.

Eli nodded, and hooted as if he was remembering past missions. "I need to tell you, this is on a need to know basis. I'll tell you who the hit is when my employer is ready."

"That's not how I work." Vin didn't like the fact this investigation was going to be totally out of his control. He was hoping for more information, but on the other hand Joey was the best strategic planner he had ever met, and the man took only minimal chances.

Joey shrugged his shoulders. "You have fifteen minutes to decide. If you want the job then get into that limo over there." He pointed to a black stretch limo parked near the swing set.

As much as he felt uncomfortable with the situation, Vin knew he had to take the opportunity. This was a chance to maybe get some guns off the street or in the least weaken a crime family. "Don't need it. It'd be a pleasure to work with you again Joey."

Tanner and Giuseppe walked over to the awaiting limousine. They walked in silence, which Joey interrupted,

"What are you doing with all that money? Cause you sure aren't spending it on clothes." Vin looked at what he was wearing, a suede jacket, jeans and denim shirt. Not the attire of a man who made two hundred thousand per job.

Ezra had wanted him to wear a fancy suit, but it just wasn't Vin's style. Especially the pink shirts Standish like to choose. He had already prepared an answer. "Investing for my retirement."

Joey laughed. Just before they reached the limo, the enforcer stopped Vin. "You cross me and your dead."

"Don't plan to do that," Vin drawled, "I plan to be alive to enjoy all my money."

Eli gave him a hard stare and nodded. A large man, wearing a dark suit exited the driver's side door and opened the rear passenger door. Joey nodded to the man. He stopped Vin, and patted him down. He then took out a scanning device ran it along Vin's clothes.

"He's clean," the man said to the occupant of the vehicle.

"Nice to know you trust me after all these years." Tanner glared at Giuseppe.

He smiled at Vin, and dropped his eyes to Tanner's boot. "I let you keep the knife." He stepped inside the limo as did Vin.

Seated across from the marksman was one of the most powerful men in the United States.

"Vin Tanner, my employer, Dominic Cuoco, Junior."

* * *

The interior of the limousine was a dark gray leather. Wood paneling accented the doors, and a mini bar was set up with a crystal decanter and seven glasses. Junior thrust his thick hand out to Vin. Tanner grasped it firmly, and felt the pinky ring which the mobster wore pinch his skin. Vin coughed as the aroma of Dominic's overwhelming cologne hit his throat. Unlike Ezra, who wore cologne every day, this man was into over kill. In his other hand languished a crystal glass filled with a brown liquid.

"Vin Tanner, Eli vouched for you." Dominic slapped Vin's leg, "He said you were the man for this particular assignment." Junior was about forty years old, he looked similar to his father. The same olive skin, and since the last picture had been taken, was gaining his father's girth. Although Junior tried to hide it by wearing a pin-striped suit.

"I won't let you down Mister Couco," Tanner looked straight into the small eyes of the crime lord. Vin figured he had better show the man some sign of respect. This was an unusual situation for the Cuoco family, hiring someone from outside, and Vin wanted to make sure they trusted him.

Dominic turned to his enforcer seated next to him, "I like this guy already." Junior pointed to his own eyes. "He looked me right in the eyes. Vin, do you want a drink?"

Vin shook his head. He felt the driver step on the gas, and heard the tires throw dirt, the gravel flying into the air as they left the playground, with a bump they dropped down from the curb and were on the road. Funny, Vin could still feel Chris's eyes following him.

Dominic continued, "We had you checked out of course, you've done a lot of work out of the country." Tanner nodded. "Seems like you have never missed your mark."

Chris had made quite the dossier on Vin. He had Tanner involved in most of the assassinations in third world countries. He eliminated Vin Tanner's existence in the ATF, and the sharpshooter had become Vin Tanner, freelance assassin.

"He's the best," Joey ran his fingers down the lapel of his suit jacket. "After me of course."

Junior patted Joey's cheek, "That's what I like about you Eli, you're so humble." Dominic pointed his thumb at Vin, "you tell him the rules?"

"Rules are: you stay at the family compound, no weapons and someone has to be with you at all times," he rose an eyebrow waiting for Vin to challenge him.

"Is this a job or a prison?" Vin also crooked an eyebrow up. The sharpshooter always had to test the boundaries which people set. Growing up in foster homes Vin needed to know what you could get away with before you were punished.

"Vin, Vin, Vin, you wound me," Joey put a hand to his chest. "You know me, I need to have control over a situation. I can't believe you forgot."

Vin grumbled back to the enforcer, "I don't have to like it."

Dominic Junior listened to the repartee. "I am a very hospitable host Mister Tanner I can assure you." Vin momentarily thought he was sitting across from a sincere man, not the ruthless individual he knew Dominic Junior was. Dominic eyed him over and then snapped his fingers. Eli leaned in, and Junior whispered in his ear. Vin listened. They were speaking Italian, Vin knew Spanish and could only make out a few words which did not make any sense.

Joey pulled out his cell phone. A feeling of dread came through Vin. He thought they had made him, his eyes looked around the limo for a way to escape.

"Mister Cuoco has a guest coming. . ."

"A size 32," Dominic added.

For a mad moment Tanner believed they were taking a coffin measurement. The cologne must really be getting to him, he thought. He chuckled as Giuseppe relayed his orders.

"Size 32," Joey continued saying into the mouth piece. "Medium top," Eli shook his head at Vin, "casual. No, like jeans and t-shirts."

"See Vin," Junior folded his hands calmly in his lap, "you think of this as a working vacation," he leaned comfortably back into the leather interior. As if meeting a sniper and inviting him into your home was all in a day's work for him.

The marksman made himself recline back into the seat also. Sure, thought Vin, a vacation. He considered Nettie's ranch a vacation, this he considered hell.

* * *

Vin looked out the window, watching the city shrink in the background and the road change into two lanes instead of the highway. On one side there was a wall of tall pine trees, the opposite side was wilderness. This was part of the land the Cuoco family owned. Vin thought how nice it would be to bring Diablo up here to run free. Chris had promised to keep an eye on his horse while he was undercover. All the same, Vin was sorely missing him, and the freedom he felt when he went riding. The vehicle slowed down and made a smooth right turn to a large, metal gate, guarded by two men in dark suits and gold rimmed sun glasses holding rifles. The driver rolled down his tinted window, the men nodded to him and opened the gate. The driveway was long and winding, and minutes passed before Vin saw the house. The house, was a huge mansion. Six columns stood stately in the front. The traditional, brick Colonial home had green ivy creeping up the front attesting to the amount of years the Couco family had been in residence. A well manicured lawn stretched a far distance. As they pulled into the circular driveway in front of the mansion Tanner saw the clear domed structure which contained a pool in the back, directly behind the house. The car came to a halt and the door was opened. Vin exited. Two men were posted at the entrance to the house, and another two men posted on either side of the car door. Eli came out next and looked around and then Dominic exited last. Junior turned to Vin who was taking in his current surroundings.

"Mister Tanner, it has been a pleasure." He stretched out his hand which Vin shook. "I look forward to working with you," he nodded to Joey, "Eli will help you settle in."

Joey gestured the two men at the mansion's stained glass doors to come forward. They escorted Dominic Junior into the house.

Eli slapped Vin on the back. "Vin, I'd like you to meet your shadows for you stay here. This is Frankie," Eli pointed to a large man with a crooked nose. "And this guy is Tony," the other large man had droopy eyes which made his face look long. "They are going to show you to your room," he turned to Frankie and whispered in his ear, in Italian once more so Vin found it difficult to understand. "I have to see to some business, but I'll see you later."

Eli began walking away, but Vin stepped quickly in front of him to block his path. "Joey, I'm gonna need some more information to prepare." Tanner gestured to the guards, "this is not how I work."

"Vin, this is going to be the easiest money you ever made," Eli grinned. "I'll plan everything, all you need to do is shoot, and then disappear."

"Okay, Joey," Vin got out of the enforcer's way. He didn't want to push Eli. Vin remembered Joey could become crazy in an instant when he was pushed too far. Tanner thought back to a mission which Joey had planned in great detail. It hadn't gone as expected. Eli snapped and had lashed out at his men. They ended up giving him his space for a few hours to control himself, but not before he had busted one of his fellow soldiers' ribs. He apologized afterwards, but Tanner had remembered the incident. "For now, " Vin added before being led away by Frankie. The other guard stepped in behind the sharpshooter.

The three walked in silence away from the house to the garage, a five car garage also built in brick. The large doors were closed, so Vin could not see the vehicles hidden inside. On the side of the building there was a wooden staircase. The three made their way up in single file, the second floor was split in half by a hallway. Frankie opened the door on the left, and gestured for Vin to go in first. Tanner found himself in a room which was double the size of his apartment. It was set up to be all open with no walls delineating the rooms except the bathroom. There was a kitchen with a heavy wood table, next a living room with an ottoman set and entertainment center, then a full size bed, with another door leading to the bathroom. The room was decorated in soothing beige and browns.

"The Boss told me to tell you that there are clothes in the closet." Frankie said, and pulled out a phone from his already bulging jacket. "He says you probably want to make a phone call to check your finances." The crooked nosed man turned the cellular on and handed it to Vin.

This was truly like a prison thought Vin, only one phone call. Vin looked around the room and noticed there was no phone in the apartment. Tanner dialed the number of the Swiss Bank and checked the account. Sure enough one hundred thousand dollars had been deposited.

"Thanks," Vin handed the phone back to Frankie.

"One of us will be outside here if you need anything," both Frankie and Tony headed towards the door. "Oh," Frankie added, "We eat lunch and dinner in the kitchen with the rest of the men. You can have breakfast in here if you want."

Tony finally said something, actually more liked mumbled. "We'll come and get you. I talked to Assunta and she's making manicotti." He looked over Vin, "you know what that is right?"

With Vin's long chestnut hair and blue eyes, he obviously did not look Italian. He had to grin at Tony. "Yep, I'll look forward to it."


	2. Chapter 2

Made Man Part 2

* * *

After a week Vin had settled into a routine. In the morning he would work out at the gym in the house, and then take a swim. It was nice to have a pool available, and the swim always cleared his mind if only for a moment. In the afternoon he practiced his karate. He ran through all the katas he knew, over twenty now. He had learned them as he drifted from town to town after the service. He usually found some sort of dojo in each town, and was able to work out there and pick up new skills. The imaginary fighting sequence helped him to focus. Each move was performed precisely with control and power behind it as if he was really being attacked, and had to defend himself. All in all, thought Vin, at least by the time this was over he would be in great shape.

Mealtimes he shared with the "boys." They were a sociable bunch, and mostly talked about food and sports in Vin's presence. Tanner had kept to himself during the meals, learning about Italian delicacies and soccer. The marksman couldn't wait to impress Ezra. Standish was always surprised by the quiet agent, and secretly Vin enjoyed throwing him off balance. Ezra never expected Vin would enjoy and have knowledge of poetry, and now cuisine. On occasion Joey joined them, when he wasn't behind closed doors with Dominic Junior. Eli had also added another rule, Vin was to keep out of sight when Dominic Junior's kids were around. Junior had two children, a fifteen year old boy and thirteen year old girl. Supposedly they knew nothing of the family business, although Vin thought they probably had their suspicions. He found kids to be astute, judging from his experience with Los Lobos, the watch gang he had formed with some of the neighborhood kids in Purgatorio. The "boys" had informed him The Boss had a soft spot for the kids. Vin found it hard to believe that the Joey he knew in the old days, had a 'soft spot' for anyone.

At night, after dinner he usually joined Eli on a walk around the compound. Joey liked to make sure his men were in place around the perimeters. Vin also got to take in the defenses, and tried to find the weaknesses of the compound. Unfortunately Tanner could not find any. During these nightly outings Joey informed Vin. Specifically, Dominic Senior was away on business, but would be returning soon. The infamous Bianca was in Miami visiting friends. Too bad, Vin thought, the sharpshooter really wanted to meet the woman who had caused Ezra so much trouble. It was on one of these cool nights, Vin was reviewing all he had learned. He still wasn't any closer to finding who the hit was on or any information on the Cuoco family's arms dealings.

"Did I lose you?" Eli was lighting another cigarette, the glowing flames illuminating his flat features momentarily.

Vin inhaled the night air deeply. The smell of pine mingled with the acrid cigarette smoke bringing him back to the conversation. "No, just enjoying the quiet of the evening."

Joey coughed after he took a drag on his cigarette. "These things will kill ya." He exhaled the smoke in a fluid stream from his nose.

Vin shook his head.

Eli chuckled, "You think in my line of work I'm gonna need to be able to hold my breath underwater for over four minutes?"

"Don't know, just saying I'm surprised." Joey seemed relaxed tonight. Usually in the evenings he was agitated and didn't talk much. Vin decided to take the chance and see if Eli would divulge anything. "Can't believe you are playing second banana. Didn't think it was your style."

Joey flicked some ash off his cigarette. "Me, not for long. Moving up in the business."

Vin pressed further, maybe this will lead to the name of the mark. "Oh yeah?"

Eli halted and flicked his cigarette away into the dewy grass. He watched it go out and then turned to face Vin. "You know, after this job you're going to have to disappear for a bit."

"Yep," Right back to my job, I hope, thought Tanner.

Joey put his hand on Vin's shoulder. Tanner eyed the hand suspiciously. When people invaded his space uninvited it made him uncomfortable. "According to the Family's rules, you're a made man." Joey squeezed Vin's shoulder, "If you want a job, then you'll have one with me."

Joey removed his hand. But still Vin felt its weight there. Tanner was getting edgy and tense. He was used to short undercover stints, and usually with one of the other guys. This assignment was taking too long. "I'm a freelancer," he finally replied, "I like to work for myself."

Eli started walking again. "Don't knock having some support, Vin. Especially the support of the Cuoco family."

"I'll think about it." He already had a family. What he wouldn't do to have Buck and JD making fools out of themselves right now to break his mood. He missed his morning discussions with Chris over strong coffee. Josiah was always readily available for some calming advice. Nathan would be making sure everyone was healthy. Ezra would remind the whole team about their poor manners. Vin couldn't believe it, he was actually starting to depend on other people. He had always taken care of himself. He wasn't sure if he liked the feeling.

* * *

The team was reviewing the preliminary information on their next case; a series of arson in the Denver area. Around the conference room table were Ezra, Buck, JD, Josiah and Nathan. Chris was seated at the head of the table. One chair, to the right of Chris, stood empty. It was taking the team longer than usual to review the information in the folders in front of them. Their attention was not on the case at hand, but on their undercover friend. Larabee reread the same page again,

"Buck and JD, you can interview the witnesses. Josiah and Nathan contact Maryland about the forensic evidence and review the results. Ezra, you and Vin. . ."

Buck cleared his throat. The other men looked at Chris, knowing his mind had wandered to where it usually went during the last two weeks.

Chris ran his hand through his hair. "Damn it!" He pounded his fist on the table. The folder in front of him jumped in response. "It's been two weeks!" Larabee had been worried. Other than knowing Vin was in the compound, they had received no further news. Hidden surveillance cameras had been placed on the main road. Vin had not left Cuoco property.

"Actually it's only been thirteen days," Ezra said as he continued to write out his notes, his Mont Blanc pen gliding effortlessly over the paper. He felt Chris's glare without even having to look up. "It is not unusual for an undercover assignment to be lengthy." Ezra had been on undercover assignments for months when he was with the FBI. The longer undercover jobs were burdensome. There was a tendency to lose yourself, the part you had taken on would become reality. The edges would blur. Ezra stopped writing, in fact it was because of his protracted assignment with the gambling syndicate that he found himself with the seven in the ATF. The Bureau started to believe he had gone bad.

"I'm sure he's fine," Nathan interrupted. "He knows how to take care of himself." Nathan thought of all the ways Vin had surprised them with his resourcefulness. Nathan figured it came from his military training. Jackson himself had picked up much from the Rangers. Tanner had been involved in many special ops missions which were classified, and therefore he never spoke much about his military past.

"It takes time," Sanchez stated. He thought back to the medal he had given to Tanner. He could only hope Saint Jude would provide some divine protection for Vin.

JD felt the mood in the room darken. He forced a grin on his face and joked, "Probably catching up with his old friend Eli." No one laughed. They all felt the loss keenly. It just wasn't the same. They tried to keep up with their normal routine, and even went to the saloon, but they were all on egg shells waiting for the tracker signal to go off. Chris had it with him at all times, it probably made him feel better to have some sort of connection. For JD it reminded him that Vin was not here with them.

Wilmington looked at all the men, making eye contact with each one so they knew he was going to say something important. "I think it's time for the pizza plan."

They all groaned. Whenever they needed to find out some information in a hurry, Buck decided the pizza plan was the only solution. He had even procured a pizza warmer bag, and a plastic sign which hooked up above the window so he looked authentic. The other men didn't know if it was the pizza they usually ate afterward or the pretty girls at the pizzeria where they ordered the pizza which made Buck love the plan. They all remembered the last time they had used the plan. The arm's dealer ended up being allergic to tomatoes. Wilmington had been lucky he was able to talk himself out of the situation.

Nathan broke the news to the easygoing agent, "Sorry Buck, but don't you think you are a bit too old to be a delivery person?" The rest of the team nodded in agreement. They had promised each other the pizza man would be retired.

Ezra explained further, "They are usually high school or college students." He didn't feel Buck had comprehended what he was saying. "If a forty year old man came to deliver my pizza, I think I would question his sanity concerning career choices."

Buck rose from his seat and leaned over the table towards Ezra. "Forty! You take that back!" Ezra leaned his chair further back, crossed his arms and grinned at Wilmington.

"I can do it," JD stood up and volunteered. He was lucky for once his youthful appearance would be of assistance not a hindrance. He would get to see Vin.

Chris was taking in the scene in front of him. He would love to hear some word on Vin, just to know he was alive would help alleviate some of the nightmares the leader had been having. Nightmares in which he would find a bloodied Vin, and his best friend would tell him, "You shouldn't have let me go in. . ."

He looked at JD, so eager for the opportunity.

Buck stopped trying to get at Ezra, and turned to Larabee. "You gonna let him do it?"

Chris addressed JD. "As long as your careful, we'll give it a try."

"Yes!" Dunne held out his hand to Buck, and wiggled his fingers as if wanting money from his friend.

Wilmington swatted the fingers away, surprised at Chris's decision. "JD, we have a petty cash fund to pay for the pizzas. What do you think- you are going out with Casey, and hitting me up to pay for the date?"

The other men laughed at Buck's comment. The relationship Buck had with JD fluctuated between father and son and brother like.

"I can't deliver pizzas on a motorcycle." JD said, rolling his eyes. "Those heat bags aren't that good." Still struggling to keep a straight face, he added on, "Plus your truck fits the part, even though you don't."

Buck tossed the keys to his friend. "You better take care of her." It was an old beat up truck, but it was well known Buck was extremely fond of the vehicle.

"Yeah, yeah, Dad," JD snickered and walked out with the others.

Wilmington and Larabee stayed momentarily behind. Buck watched the young agent leave, talking animatedly with the rest of the team. "You think he'll be okay?"

Chris collected his papers and returned them into the folder. "I don't think they'll even let him through the gate, the way they have that place guarded." He got up and placed a hand on Buck's shoulder.

"I hope you're right." Buck's smile returned to his face. "I'll go place the order."

Chris chuckled, "No anchovies this time."

* * *

It was only six o'clock, but the smell of the pepperoni pizzas was making JD's stomach grumble. He saw the opening in the pine hedges up ahead. He pulled in and was greeted by two of the Cuoco guards with rifles.

One of the men came up to the car, pulled the mouth piece of his headset away, and knocked on the door. JD rolled down the window.

"You lost?" He was asked by the wiry man.

The young agent shrugged his shoulders, and adjusted his newsboy cap. He turned to the passenger seat and picked up the receipt taped to the top of the warmer bag. "No, I have a pizza delivery for D. Couco." He sounded out the last name as if it was the first time he was saying it.

The wiry guard looked at the slip and shook his head. "No one ordered pizza here, kid." He was backing away from the truck and was just about to gesture for JD to back up and be on his way when he was interrupted by the other guard, a stocky, large man.

He also pulled his mouth piece away. "You don't think Niki ordered the pizzas?"

The wiry man put down his hand, and seemed to be thinking. "I thought the Boss talked to those kids after the Chinese food thing last month."

The burly man laughed. "Cosmo, you know the Boss and those kids." Cosmo nodded his head. "He let's them get away with everything."

JD intruded on the discussion, "Excuse me, but I got them here in a half an hour, so they aren't going to be free." The two guards stared at each other. "Is someone going to pay me?"

"You got any money on you?" Cosmo asked the burly sentry.

"Just Franklins and Grants," came the quick reply. "Send him up to the house," the stocky guard suggested.

Cosmo looked to the gate and back at JD. He made his decision. "Listen kid, you drive up the road, pull around back and they'll pay for the pizzas."

The other guard hit a button and the ominous gate slowly opened.

JD shifted the truck into gear, and waved to the sentry. "Thanks Mister!"

This plan was working out great, the young agent thought. Better than whenever Buck used it. JD tried to quell the anticipation growing in him as he drove down the winding driveway. He knew the guys thought he wouldn't have a chance, but he just knew he was going to see Vin. Would they be surprised when he reported back. The team was waiting for him at the main road, just before road became Cuoco property. Up ahead he spied an out-cropping of tall maple trees. He pulled the Chevy off the road, and slipped it behind the trees. The maples hid the truck from view of the driveway. JD had decided to walk the rest of the route to the house, this would actually give him a chance to investigate. He zipped up his jacket, the air was getting chilly as it turned to night, and grabbed the pizzas. Chris had said to be careful, and that was what he was doing.

* * *

Vin was just finishing up his dinner with the 'boys.' On tonight's menu was gnocchi and chicken marsala. Buck was right, all the Italian food was making him gain weight. The cook had taken it upon herself to fatten him up.

"Do you want more?" Assunta, the short, plump, gray-haired, cook came around the table with her pot ready to add to Vin's plate.

He shook his head and patted his stomach. "No, ma'am. That was more than enough."

She pressed on. This woman did not take no for an answer. "More gnocchi?"

"No, ma'am, really. It was delicious. I couldn't eat another bite." He was looking at the other men for support, but they had suddenly found their plates extremely interesting.

Assunta smiled at Vin, raising her eyebrows. "A little more chicken." She put the pot down, and speared the meat already on the table with a fork.

"Thank you, ma'am...uh, but...No. I'm *real* full."

Assunta smiled as she put another piece of chicken onto Vin's plate. "You just take a little more. You are a growing boy."

Tanner glanced wearily at the huge piece of chicken breast the woman slid before him. He did his best to sound sincere, but the 'Thank you, ma'am' was weak, to say the least. Vin couldn't help but notice the other men at the table suppressing their wicked smiles, they each had been in his position but had learned early on that *no one* said 'no' to Assunta. Of course he wasn't up to unbuttoning the top button of his pants like the other men, to relieve the pressure of their full stomachs. If only the ATF could come and raid this place during meal times, the mobsters wouldn't even be able to get off their chairs. The white, wooden, kitchen door swung open. Eli came in and was greeted by the plump cook who kissed each cheek, and went to get a dish for the enforcer. She handed a plate of the red sauced gnocchi,

"Mangia."

Joey kissed her back, and quickly wolfed down the heavy pasta. He already knew it was just easier to eat than to argue with the cook. He gestured to Vin to follow him, before Assunta had a chance to put some chicken on another plate for Eli. It was time for one of their walks, Vin was happy to leave his piece of chicken behind.

It was a brisk night, and Tanner was enjoying the fresh air. It was helping him to digest the heavy meal. Eli questioned him,

"Are you enjoying the Cuoco family's hospitality?"

"Yep, but don't know if I can take two more weeks of it. You may have to order me some more clothes." The band on Vin's jeans was pressing against his skin. He liked his pants loose against his waist.

Joey chuckled, "Assunta's cooking will do that to you. She likes her men hardy." The enforcer put his arms up to show Tanner his larger physique.

Vin laughed in return. She would have a long way to go with him. Hopefully, he would not be here long and she would not get the opportunity.

"Tanner, about the job. . ." The sharpshooter stopped walking. Finally some information about the hit. Eli was about to continue but closed his mouth, his face formed into a frown and his eyes focused on a spot over Vin's shoulder. "What the hell?"

Vin turned around. He wanted to groan when he saw Buck's beat up Chevy with the pizza sign over the passenger side door. He thought that plan was history. He could not believe Chris agreed to this. What are they thinking? Damn, so close, and now this!

The two men quickly made their way to the abandoned truck. Eli walked around the Chevy, Vin looked inside.

"Somebody's delivering pizza," Vin added an explanation, "Probably thought the house was closer."

Eli stopped pacing around the truck, and crossed his arms, as if to keep his emotions from spilling out. Slowly he gritted out to Tanner, "With Assunta do you think we order take out?"

"Look, you go that way," Vin pointed to the driveway leading to the house. "I'll check out over there," he pointed to the grassy area away from the path.

Eli stalked away. Vin listened as the footsteps became quieter. Once the enforcer was out of sight he picked up his pace. He had noticed the tracks, and began to follow them. It had been easy to suggest to Joey to go the other way. The man had been caught off guard by the truck. He didn't like surprises, and didn't know how to deal with them when they arose. The truck being there was not part of his plan. Vin had to find Buck first. He recognized the gleam in the enforcer's eyes. Joey was going to erupt, and Buck would be at the receiving end. Tanner crouched down to check the sneaker tracks again. He looked up and saw something hiding behind a tree. It was JD. The young agent had seen Vin coming. He looked around before running towards him, pizzas in tow.

"Vin!"

Tanner was stunned. He couldn't believe Larabee had sent in the young man. "JD, we got to get you out of here." Vin ushered JD to start walking quickly. "I'm fine." He continued to fill Dunne in, "I think the job will be going down soon." The faster he was able to get JD to the truck and off the property the better he would feel.

"Great, we've all been worried." JD lengthened his step to keep up with Vin. "I'm glad I got a chance to see you."

"You shouldn't have come," Vin shook his head. The sharpshooter was glad to see a friendly face, but he wished they hadn't taken the risk. He didn't want anyone to get hurt on account of him, especially JD. He spent a lot of time with Dunne. He was kind of like a kid brother in a way. JD always listened intently to Vin, even though Tanner knew the young agent was book smart, he still had a lot to learn. Vin was street smart and had found an eager pupil in JD.

"I don't think the others thought I would be able to get in," JD replied. Vin swept a hand across his forehead. He really shouldn't have been able to get in, dumb luck that may get them killed had struck. Vin could see the truck a few feet ahead. He would get JD back in the truck, past the gates, hopefully before Joey came back. Sure, this was all going to work out, thought Vin, as he felt a shiver up his spine. Tanner stopped dead in his tracks when he heard the enforcer's voice,

"What did you find Vin?"

Joey was walking back up the driveway. He hadn't walked all the way down to the house. Vin and JD turned slowly. Tanner squeezed his arm to keep quiet. "Just some kid delivering some pizza. I'm taking him back to his truck."

Eli yelled out to Vin, "Bring him here, I want to talk to him."

Vin nudged JD to walk towards the truck. "Don't worry. Like I said he got lost, didn't know the house was so set back." Vin did not want Eli near Dunne. He just wanted him safely away from the compound.

The sharpshooter heard the unmistakable sound of a gun cocking. Reflexively, he pushed JD off balance, causing Dunne to hit the pavement hard. The pizzas flew out of his hands. His head making an audible thump against the driveway. Vin suppressed the shout that wanted to escape from him, and bent down to check on JD. He was unconscious. Vin leaned down and felt JD's warm breath exit his mouth. Blood trickled down the right side of the young agent's still face. The bullet had grazed him. On the back of his head a large knot was already forming where Dunne had connected with the pavement. Eli was sauntering up to check his handy work. Vin had to think quickly. He used the blood of the head wound and smeared it around JD's temple, making the wound look more serious than it was. With his still bloodied hand he broke the chain which he had been wearing with the Saint Jude charm and set off the signal. He slipped it in JD's jacket pocket, and stood up to meet Eli.

Vin clenched his bloody hand by his side. "He's as good as dead."

Joey prodded the pale form of JD with his loafer. Vin wanted to scream at the indignity his young friend was being subjected to, with all the blood smeared across his forehead, he did look at death's door. Vin only hoped there was no serious damage and Eli fell for the ruse. He gritted out, "Lay off Joey."

"You don't give the orders around here Tanner," Vin did not notice the shiny object Eli swiftly brought across his left arm, but he felt the pain of the knife as it slashed through his skin. Vin's bloodied hand covered the gash in his left bicep. His blood mingling with JD's. "Don't forget that."

At that moment the four men he had left in the kitchen ran up to them. Frankie, one of Vin's shadows, spoke up first. "Boss, we heard the shot. What happened?"

"Uninvited guest," he quickly explained. "He's been dealt with."

The men looked from the young man on the ground to Vin's bleeding arm, trying to figure out what had occurred. Eli did not offer any further explanations to the mobsters.

In the dark, Vin could see Joey's brown eyes looking toward the gate area menacingly. "Cosmo and Peppe at the gate tonight?"

They all nodded, recognizing that the monotone quality of his voice meant Eli was angry. Finally Tony, Vin's other guard and a man of few words asked Eli for instructions, "Communion or Confirmation?"

Eli waved his hand. "Communion. You guys I trust can take care of it." Joey answered looking over the men with a cold stare. They nodded knowing exactly how to proceed. "I am going to have a 'talk' with the gate guards."

Vin's mind was reeling. A communion meant they wanted to get rid of the body. He couldn't let that happen, he had to give the team some sort of chance to get to the young man. "Wait a second." Eli stopped and glared at Vin. He cocked an eyebrow as if to warn Tanner he was risking another injury. "He's a kid. Someone will start looking for him."

"So?" Eli said impatiently, eager to talk to the men at the gate.

Vin met the enforcer's glare, and made his voice coldly say, "Dump him and the car in Purgatorio. When they find him they'll think it was gang related."

Eli smiled at Tanner, obviously liking the idea. "They are always trying to kill each other down there." He pointed to the body of the young agent. "Unfortunate casualty caught in the cross fire." Eli snapped his fingers to get the attention of his men. "You guys got that? They'll think he got lost when they find him."

"You got it boss," Tony said as took some plastic gloves out of his pocket.

Eli turned his back, and yelled out to Vin, "Good thinking, clean yourself up and we'll talk later."

Vin wanted to vomit. Somehow he had patched it up with Eli, and hoped he had bought the kid some time. He had to trust JD being an ATF agent, could handle himself if he woke up, and the rest of the team would come through.

He watched as Bruno, one of the other men, brought out a plastic sheet, and laid it over the upholstery of Buck's Chevy. Tony picked up Dunne's body effortlessly, and deposited it in the plastic covered area. JD's lifeless form was buckled into the passenger side, and his newsboy hat was set on top of his head covering the head injury. Tanner watched the scene unfold in front of him. Helpless to assist his friend without putting Dunne's life in more danger. Bruno got in the driver's side, and started the engine.

Vin felt a tap on the shoulder. It was Frankie. "You need to go back to your room and clean up." Vin took another glance at his friend, who looked like a relaxed passenger, as he was driven away. Tanner closed his eyes, willing himself to keep under control and allowed himself to be lead away by his shadow.


	3. Chapter 3

Made Man Part 3

* * *

Vin stood in front of the bathroom mirror in his temporary lodging at the Cuoco residence. He had taken off the bloodied, gray Henley he had been wearing and thrown it in the trash. Bare chested, he went through the bathroom and found a first -aid kit, he then cleaned the wound on his arm. Once cleaned, it didn't look too bad, but blood was still oozing alerting Vin stitches were necessary. He had heated the sewing needle, which he had found in a small sewing kit, in the kitchen. Resting the needle on the edge of the electric coils until it glowed red hot. While it cooled he sprayed the black thread with some antibacterial spray he had found in the first aid kit. Carefully he inserted the thread through the needle. The pain as he pierced his skin near the edge of the cut was welcoming. In and out he deftly stitched, thinking about the numbness which had come over him. He should have done something more for JD. Doubts and 'what ifs' crept into his mind. This never happened when I worked alone, thought Vin. It's only been one year. Had working with the team changed him so much, making him doubt and not trust himself? Ten stitches later and a lot of built up guilt, Vin finished. The door flew open, from his view point in the bathroom Vin could see Eli had barged into the apartment. He was rubbing the knuckles of his right hand.

"Those goombahs at the gate didn't think letting a stranger in the compound was a reason to alert anyone," Joey sighed. "I know I only want them to use the head sets in case of emergency," he explained further although Vin wasn't paying attention, "anyone could be listening." Eli shook his head, "But, they told me they don't like to wear the head sets. They think they are uncomfortable, well they are uncomfortable now." The enforcer chuckled and threw some fake punches. "Frankie's gonna be at the gate covering for awhile until the guys come back." He then screwed up his face as he noticed Vin tying off the stitches, "Ouch, that's got to hurt."

Vin carefully placed a large bandage over the cut. Eli was reacting as if he wasn't the cause of the injury or of hurting JD. A red haze descended over Vin. "Yep, you son-of-a-bitch," Tanner's pent up rage toward Joey erupted. In two steps Vin tackled Eli, grabbing him behind his knees, causing Joey to land in a heap on the floor. Vin was thankful that Frankie, his shadow, had been reassigned for the night. Instantly Tanner sat on top of the enforcer pinning him to the ground. He crossed his wrists, and brought his hands to clamp down on the collar of Eli's striped shirt. Slowly he started to pull the cottony material and watch as Joey's stunned expression turned to alarm as his face grew red. Vin could hear the sharp slam of Eli's shoe against the hard wood floor, he could tell the man was trying to gain some leverage to buck attacker off. Vin was determined to exact some sort of revenge on Joey. The sharpshooter felt the pounding of Eli's pulse against his hand, and it felt good to know Eli was helpless, the same way Tanner had felt when JD went down. Vin pulled the material again and this time his knuckles brushed against a chain which Joey wore around his neck. Vin had been wearing a chain earlier. He had broken it off and gave it to JD to save his life. He had to trust the team would come through. He couldn't loose his head now. Abruptly, Vin broke the hold, unclenching his hands from the shirt. He stood up and went to the kitchen, looking at his hands, chafed from the exertion. People were depending on him. He had to finish this job and make sure Eli paid for what he had done. He filled a glass with water and brought it to Eli, who had moved himself so he was propped up against a wall. Harsh redness from where his shirt was choking him made a ring around his neck. He was taking in deep breaths of air, shakily he accepted the offered glass. After a few sips he spoke,

"Nice to see your performance tomorrow won't be affected," Eli said with a raspy voice gesturing to Vin's arm. The bandage had spots of blood on it.

"Tomorrow?" Vin was trying to ground his mind and concentrate on what Joey was telling him. He placed his hand behind his neck longing to feel the chain that was there. There would be no way to contact the team. He would have to take down the Cuoco family himself or trust that what Ezra described as his impeccable timing, had rubbed off on the rest of them.

Normal color had returned to Eli's face and he attempted to stand, putting out his hand to Vin. Tanner grasped the hand and pulled up the enforcer. Joey didn't let go and looked Vin straight in the eyes. "I'll let you get away this time-let's just say you were blowing off some steam."

Vin nodded, coolly staring back at the larger man. He just had to keep it together awhile longer.

Eli patted Vin on the face and gestured to the door. "Let's take a walk." Eli waited at the door, moving his neck around while Vin grabbed a shirt. He buttoned it as they left the apartment. Silently they descended the stair case and made their way to the rear of the main house.

Vin's patience was wearing thin, even the night sounds which he usually found so comforting were unnerving him. "You gonna fill me in?" he finally drawled out.

In a low voice Eli answered him going down a list of information. "Your hit takes place tomorrow morning at 11am. There will be two limousines. The first one will contain Junior and myself. In the second one is your hit. He will be the second person exiting the limousine wearing a red carnation."

Mentally, Vin memorized the data. He paused and stopped in mid-stride, "A red carnation?" A disbelieving look crossed Tanner's face though he kept his thoughts to himself. 'What the hell is this, some bad 40's gangster movie. Is he going to be carrying a violin case as well.'

But the other man misinterpreted his associate's expression as confusion. "It's one of those fluffy flowers." Eli waved his hand, "It doesn't make a difference. He will be the only one wearing a flower on his lapel. He always wears it."

"Does the man wearing the flower have a name?"

"You don't need to know. Trust me." Joey smiled and continued with the rest of the plan. "You will be stationed on the roof of a four story building across the street. You go in there on the pretense you are the air conditioner repairman. You take the shot and your out, vehicle waiting in the back."

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Vin was surprised Eli had forgotten the most important part in his plan. Maybe the great strategic planner was slipping.

Eli laughed, "I thought I would let you pick your vacation destination." The enforcer was referring to Vin supposedly having to leave the country after the hit. Vin found they had walked to the entrance of the dome that housed the swimming pool. "I know what you mean Tanner, and we are taking care of that right now." They entered the dome and made their way to the cabana. Eli closed the door, and moved some boxes in a corner. He then pushed a button previously hidden by the cartons. The floor in the corner began to move, revealing a lit stairway. Vin followed Eli down the steep stairs the door closed behind him giving Vin a moment of apprehension. He was not fond of closed places. But anxiety turned to amazement as Tanner found himself in a large concrete room filled with semi-automatic rifles, shotguns and pistols.

"Pick what you'll need and it will be waiting for you in the morning."

Vin was astonished at the storehouse of weapons. He would have never have found where they were located if it wasn't for Eli. On racks and in crates Vin saw, Heckler and Koch sub-machine guns, AK40's, Remington shotguns and Mausers, Glocks and Colts. Not wanting to act suspiciously Tanner choose his weapon for the hit and settled on a H and K MSG90, which he handed to Joey.

Eli nodded appreciatively at Vin, happy with his decision. He placed the MSG90 in a bag. Quietly, Eli escorted Vin back to his apartment. His guard was still on gate duty, Vin actually wanted to see the man's flat features, at least if he did he would know the other men had returned from depositing JD in Purgatorio, and delude himself everything had worked out.

"Get some rest," Eli stood at the threshold to the door. He held up the bag, "See you in the morning," and left.

In bed Vin stared at the ceiling noting how the moonlight patterned the ceiling with shadows. He couldn't get to sleep, everyone was asking for his trust. He had to trust Eli on the hit, he had to trust the team to come through. He punched his pillow in frustration and tried instead to think about the red carnation. He had seen it somewhere recently-but where? Every time he tried to think about it he saw JD's crimson blood on his hands.

* * *

They had arrived at the twilight of the day when grayness began to shroud the area, before the darkness of the night. Josiah, Ezra, Buck, Nathan and Chris watched as JD had climbed into the truck and driven off towards the Cuoco compound. Larabee had told the young man to be careful and the words resonated through the woods as the remaining part of the team climbed up a hill to a heavily shrubbed area. The land which bordered the Cuoco property had been deemed conservation area. When Dominic Cuoco Senior could not purchase the land he asked his political cronies to pull some strings, and what should have been land for affordable housing had been made into unused, protected land. Unbeknownst to the Cuoco family the FBI had set up surveillance cameras which watched the access road below, making the federal agencies aware of the comings and goings of the residents. It was those pictures Chris saw everyday, looking for Vin Tanner to no avail. Now he was searching the road for his young agent. Chris had almost wanted to halt the mission. *Almost* though his need to find out about Vin had over ridden his head. An hour later he watched as Buck paced again, kicking up the dead brown pine needles in his wake.

He stopped and whispered loudly, "It's been an hour! Where is he?"

Ezra was leaning against a tree he had deemed would not cause harm to his suit jacket. He glanced at his watch. "Actually, it's only been 45 minutes."

Chris was lying on the ground next to Nathan, who was looking at the compound through high powered binoculars. Larabee turned and looked at his unconcerned, undercover agent. "Strange how someone who never shows up to work on time is suddenly so exact about it."

Ezra pretended he did not hear the comment and went to stand next to Josiah. Chris knew Standish was only trying to help lessen the anxiousness of the group, but Larabee's patience was wearing thin these days.

"I can't believe he made it in." Jackson said again. They were all shocked when he had gotten into the compound, but as the minutes ticked by, he never came out. Each minute Chris had felt he had signed the young agent's death warrant. Chris had gotten careless with the life of another, all because of his relationship with Vin. The sharpshooter had made him human and less the mechanical person he had turned into after Sara and Adam's death.

"Can you stop saying that Nathan." Buck gritted out through clenched teeth. Buck shared a familial relationship with JD. Chris hated to see his old friend go through the same worrying Larabee himself had been going through the past two weeks, fighting the unknown was a strenuous fight.

Josiah interrupted, his large form coming forward holding the tracking device as if it were the holy grail. "Chris, the signal is going off." He bent down so Chris could see the green light blinking in staccato rhythm. Chris's heart was pounding to the same beat. 'What the hell is happening down there.' He calmed himself down before giving his orders.

"Nathan, run down and get your laptop so we can see if Vin is moving." The box only made them aware someone had set off the signal, but via satellite link they would be able to track his location. Nathan exchanged the binoculars for the tracking gizmo and took off in a run down the hilly terrain. It would take Jackson awhile to return. The Dodge was about a half a mile away, well hidden off the side of the road. Chris began making another sweep with the binoculars. Minutes ticked by and Chris kept scanning the area. He saw a yellow blur and zoomed in, "Buck's truck is leaving the compound."

Wilmington raced to Chris's side, squinting to make out his vehicle in the distance. "What's going on? Is it Vin and JD?" Buck's voice was filled tension.

Larabee kept the binoculars fixed on the truck, trying to see who the occupants were. Finally he was able to make out a form through the olive colored hue which the glass of binoculars bathed everything in. It was JD sitting in the passenger side seat. Relief flodded through him. "JD's in the truck." He said to a worried Wilmington. Buck got behind Chris as if he was going to be able to see the young man through the binoculars too. Larabee went back to searching, he took in one more glimpse of Dunne before shifting to see who the driver was. Maybe it was Vin? But, he had missed the oppurtunity, the truck came up on the road below, obstructing the view. Once the truck had passed all he could see was the back of two heads. A dark sedan followed close behind the Chevy. Both continued on their way. "I don't know who else is in the truck with JD," Chris announced to the awaiting men.

Suddenly breaking through the trees breathing hard came Nathan, "The signal is in the truck." He had overheard a part of the conversation. He opened up his laptop and showed Chris the diagram of the road in front of them and the moving blip representing Vin's signal.

"Let's go boys!" Hurriedly the team packed up what little equipment they had brought and made their way down the hill towards Chris's vehicle. Buck stayed close to Nathan and watched the screen, as if the screen could tell him what had happened to his friend. Nathan gave them updates.

"They just got on the highway."

Once they made it to the Ram they quickly got underway, making it to the main road in no time, weaving in and out of traffic as the tail lights of the other vehicles shimmered.

"They are heading to Purgatorio," Nathan said from the passenger side next to Chris, disbelief evident in his voice. Buck was sitting in the middle of the back seat flanked by Ezra and Josiah, he stuck his head forward in between the open space between the front seat.

"What in the hell is going on?" He excentuated each word.

Chris didn't answer and the others offered no explanations. They had entered Purgatorio, Vin's home. They had all tried to dissuade Tanner's choice of residences. Purgatorio was a place that sapped the character out of a person's soul. Gangs, drugs and poverty abounded. Vin had endured though and had brought some change to the community. 'Why Purgatorio?' Larabee thought and other questions no one voiced entered his mind. 'Where was Vin?' 'Was JD okay?' 'What trouble had they gotten into?'

The black clad leader pulled over as he noticed the truck and the sedan had stopped a distance ahead. Buck had already taken his seatbelt off in plans to exit the vehicle. Chris turned around and gave him a steadying glare. "Wait, we want to keep our distance, and see what happens." Waiting, he seemed to do a lot of that with these men in the year since they had been together. They watched in horror as they recognized JD's inert form. Chris could hear Buck trying to get out of the truck, Ezra and Josiah were holding him in place. They watched the scene unfold before them as two of the Cuoco family's henchmen pull out some plastic and moved Dunne's body to the driver's seat. They broke the windows on each side of the truck, grabbed the bunched up plastic and within moments were driving off, their deed done.

Chris started the engine and without looking pulled out to the street, with a screeching halt he stopped at Buck's parked vehicle. Nathan was already out, the opened door gave Chris a view of JD. A piece of the shattered glass was still hanging on to the rim of Buck's car door window, but it did not hamper the view. Dried blood painted Dunne's passive face. His eyed were closed and his newsboy hat askew.

Nathan had opened the vehicle door, the glass which had been perilously perched shattered to the pavement with a crash.

Buck was at his side, a paleness had come over his features. He reached out and touched the young man's shoulder careful not to disturb Nathan as he made a precursory examination. "Come on JD. Wake up! I am not gonna be mad about the truck!"

Ezra, Josiah and Chris had stood back not wanting to crowd Buck and Nathan, but equally concerned with JD's condition. Nathan unbuckled Dunne and began to pull the young agent out of the vehicle. They rushed forward to assist him. As they got the top part of his body out, the chain with the Saint Jude charm fell to the ground. Ezra bent down and picked it up,

"Seems Agent Tanner was somehow involved in this." Ezra held up the necklace for them to view. They gave it a precursory glance, not having time to think of Vin and what this all meant. There would be time later. They focussed on JD.

Josiah had effortlessly removed JD from the truck and stood cradling him in his arms, being careful to support the injured man's head. Nathan filled them in on his discoveries, "He's breathing. I don't know the extent of the injuries, or about this blood. There is a graze and a lump on the back of his head "

Ezra pocketed the chain and pulled out his cell phone. He was in the midst of dialing 911 when Chris placed a hand on Standish's forearm and stopped him,

"In this neighborhood it would be faster if we took him ourselves. Ambulances don't rush down here."

Ezra nodded, noticing none of the areas inhabitants had come to the scene to check on the commotion. It was if someone being disposed of in Purgatorio were a common occurrence.

Nathan added, "Call the hospital instead and tell them to be ready," as Josiah gathered Dunne in his large, brawny arms and got into the Dodge. Buck entered in right beside Sanchez, hesitantly reaching out to remove some hair which had fallen into the young man's face. He seemed to think twice about it, not wanting to disturb the blood which had crusted on JD's dark hair. Finally Buck let his hand rest on Dunne's shoulder. Nathan got in beside Buck, Ezra in the front seat, phone to ear telling the hospital they would arrive in ten minutes.

The tender scene Chris had witnessed prompted him to drive faster, being careful to avoid any bumps in the road which may jar the injured man. There was silence in the car intermittently broken by Buck whispering to JD in a soothing voice and pleading with him to open his eyes. At the hospital Sanchez deposited his bundle gently on the awaiting gurney. The beleaguered team followed the gurney as the automatic doors to the hospital opened wide. They raced after their friend as the bed crashed through the emergency room doors. The harried nurse, who had been running with the gurney turned toward them.

"You can't come in here." They all stopped as the doors swung shut in front of them. Four men stood looking through the small windows as the doctors and nurses worked on JD. Another nurse came forward from the desk,

"There's a waiting room over there and the doctor will come out as soon as he is finished." She pointed to a small open room with garish, green vinyl chairs. Josiah gently pulled Buck away from the doors and guided him to a sofa. Wilmington was holding JD's hat in his hands, clutching it as if it were a life line to his friend, They all sank down into the seats and prepared to wait. Ezra fidgeted and took out the necklace he had placed in his pocket. The fluorescent lights in the waiting room shined on the chain pointing out the stains of blood which were intertwined in the gold.

"Vin let this happen." Buck said as his eyes watched the chain wave back and forth in Ezra's hands.

Standish stopped swinging the chain and closed his hand over the cool metal. "Buck, don't go making allegations. Agent Tanner cares just as much about our injured friend as the rest of us. I am sure if it were within his power he would not let anything befall JD."

Buck shook his head. "That's not good enough Ez. I want answers."

"Not now Buck," Chris answered. "Remember, Vin's risking his life undercover with those thugs." Larabee did not want to deal with this now. He couldn't figure out what had happened, he was hoping JD would be able to fill them in, but he didn't like what Buck was insinuating.

"Right, undercover with a guy he knew from way back." Buck looked at the other men planting the seeds of distrust in their minds. "What the hell do we know about him?" Wilmington exhaled sharply as if mocking the man who was not in their presence. "He was raised in foster families, in the military, a former bounty hunter. It's all kind of sketchy."

Chris stood up glaring at his oldest friend, shocked at his hostility towards Tanner. "That's enough Buck. You're feeling guilty and taking it out on Vin."

Wilmington lept off the couch. The others got up from their seats ready to break up a fight which looked imminent between the two friends. Buck saw the reaction of the team and stayed in place. "That's right I shouldn't blame the almighty Vin." Wilmington put a hand to his head as if to pretend he had acted foolishly. "I should blame you. You shouldn't have sent him in." Buck stormed off to position himself by the doors which separated him from JD.

Chris felt the weight enter his shoulders. Buck was right, as team leader he took responsibility for these men. He had thought going out to the compound would be a quick diversion for the team and JD would be turned away at the gate. With this team he found himself beginning to enjoy his job again, like he used to before...before he lost Sara and Adam. Now his rash decision may have ramifications for two more people he cared about, JD and Vin. Chris swallowed his guilt to add to the rest he had absorbed over the years. He went to follow his old friend to try to console him, but felt a hand on his forearm holding him back.

"Leave him be. Ezra's tending to him." Chris saw the fashionably dressed agent was next to Wilmington talking softly to him.

Larabee looked at his remaining men wondering what kind of impact Buck's words had made on them. "What do you think about Vin?" He asked the large man.

"I don't know." Josiah sighed. "You can't be touched by darkness and not come through unscathed." Sanchez was alluding to the time when Vin was caught in fevered delusions-trying to escape something, screaming with a desperate voice filled with fear. "I think Vin has some explaining to do."

Chris nodded, accepting the man's opinion and wondering how this would effect the team, and its future. He had to make some decisions on the next course of action concerning the Cuoco assignment.

Nathan interrupted pointing to the trauma room doors. "Look, the doctor is talking to Ezra and Buck." A gray haired man was in deep conversation with the two agents. Chris watched as the lines of tension which had momentarily slackened in Buck's face tightened once again. It was not going to be good news, though Chris. Josiah and Nathan waited with him, Chris did not want to intrude on Buck. He saw Ezra nod and then walk towards the waiting men.

Ezra went directly into what the doctor had told him. "They stitched up the graze, about 15 stitches. They did a CT scan and it came out negative. He has a concussion."

Nathan's concerned voice interrupted Ezra. "Is he awake?"

Standish green eyes flickered to the ground. "No, which has the doctor concerned."

Nathan explained to the others understanding the medical ramifications of JD's state. "The longer he stays unconscious, the more likely he will stay that way."

Ezra closed his eyes and nodded his head in agreement. He then turned to Chris. "Buck is staying here for the night."

Larabee nodded, knowing there was no where else he expected Buck to be. He would be giving Wilmington space tonight. Plus he had work to do and so did the others. "We are going to have to do some surveillance."

They nodded understanding their leader. "Josiah and Nathan, I need you both on the first shift tonight. I want to know about any movement at the Cuoco compound. Ezra and I will relieve you in the morning."

Ezra, Josiah and Nathan went to join Buck as JD was wheeled out from the emergency room in preparation to being settled into a private room for the night. Chris stayed back eyeing the young agent as he lay oblivious to the world around him and the trouble brewing. Buck was at his bed side immediately taking in the sight of the injured man. Larabee took a last look before turning and heading for his vehicle. The others would grab taxis to take them back to their cars. He had to get to the office where maybe he could figure out what Vin was up to.

* * *

Ezra arrived at the federal building at the ungodly hour of 5:30 am. A pair of Oliver Peeples sun glasses helped to dim the light of the rising sun. He slipped into his parking space noting Chris's Dodge was there, probably since last night and Cuervo, the unruly cat, was curled up under the front tire asleep. Perhaps today the feline would spare his Jaguar of his usual pawing. He saw her tail flick back and forth, not likely. Ezra shook his head, thankful that he now carried a chamois cloth in his vehicle for these occasions. Next to Larabee's Ram was Vin's beat up Jeep patiently waiting for its owner, or had Tanner truly found greener pastures? All that money and power was tempting. It had influenced men of stronger constitution through out history.

With his elbow Standish pushed the elevator button. In his hands he carried two travel mugs of coffee he had brewed himself at home. He hadn't been able to sleep much last night. Once Nathan and Josiah had seen JD safely ensconced in his room they left for their surveillance. Ezra decided to stay and keep Buck company. Mother would be horrified at his good deed, but he felt a strange closeness to this team which he hated to admit to. Another one of Mother's important lessons: You can only depend on yourself. He stayed until Wilmington had fallen asleep holding the young agent's hand. The boy had remained frighteningly still in the bed.

The elevator door swished open to the eleventh floor which housed the team. The office was dimly lit except for the glow coming from down the corridor which led to the office of Group Supervisor, Chris Larabee. He walked in unannounced and placed one coffee before the weary, blonde man. Lines seemed to have carved themselves around his eyes over night. He was glaring at a folder, until he heard the thump of the cup hit the desk. He looked up, a little surprised, and checked his watch giving Ezra a lopsided grin.

"If I couldn't smell the coffee, I would believe you were a ghost." He took a sip of the dark liquid. "I would have picked you up at six. You could have slept in a bit."

Ezra sank down into the guest chair. "After last night, sleep was difficult." Standish ran a hand through his dark hair. "JD's condition is unchanged."

Chris nodded. "I know. I keep checking with the nurse's station." He took another sip of coffee. "Buck's awake."

Larabee always seemed to amaze Ezra. He always knew where his agents were. No wonder Vin called him a mother hen, that's what probably gave him those wrinkles. He was worrying about three men, Buck, JD and Vin, and their effect on the team. Standish noted the tab on the file the leader had placed on his desk.

"Trying to discern the loyalties of Agent Tanner?" Ezra's green eyes flicked over the name on the folder.

Chris sighed opening the file again. "There are a lot of areas blacked out." Larabee was referring to special ops missions which required high clearance. The fact that even the blonde haired man could not find out what Vin had been up to during his military service gave Ezra a sinking feeling. Chris continued, "The rest is stuff I already knew about him."

Larabee took another sip of the coffee and grabbed his jacket signaling it was time to go and relieve Nathan and Josiah. Holding their mugs, they waited for the elevator to arrive.

"Agent Tanner is going to have quite a welcome." Ezra's statement had a double meaning. He knew Chris and Vin had bonded, and Larabee wanted him back into the fold. However, the fold would want some answers. Standish himself hadn't decided. The quiet agent wasn't what mother would call 'acceptable' for her son to associate with. He had grown up on the wrong side of the tracks. Yet, Ezra did admire the man. He had welcomed the undercover agent without hesitation, not caring about the supposed stains on Ezra's past. But, was that because he was hiding his own nefarious former life? They were risking their lives for him too. If they were caught, even in the vicinity of the Couco compound, the retaliation from the mobsters would be deadly.

Each man was left to his own thoughts as they drove to the surveillance area. Jackson and Sanchez were delighted to see their replacements after a long night spent in the woods.

"All yours," Nathan said handing a set of binoculars to Ezra. "It's been real quiet. No one has come in or out."

Josiah reiterated the same to their leader. He stretched his large frame and yawned. "You'll find me at home if you need me."

Chris nodded and they stepped into the greenery which quickly enveloped them.

Hours ticked by, the dark roast coffee was long gone. Nathan and Josiah had left bottled water for them. Ezra took a deep breath of the fresh air. He did not consider himself an outdoorsman and this sojourn into the woods was not entertaining. He had spent some time in the great outdoors especially with Maude's husband number 3 or was it 4? His hobby was hunting. He was a Scotsman and rich, a prerequisite for Mother. When Standish was home from boarding school during those two years, the Scot would take him out in the moors to shoot some helpless animal..

Ezra looked at the rocky terrain. It was hell on his Gucci loafers. He was wearing his dark, Brioni suit today. He looked over at Chris wearing the same clothes as yesterday-dark pants, a non-descript, button down shirt and dark sneakers. They were extremely mismatched, yet he appreciated the man who had brought them all together into a cohesive unit. Ezra had never been a part of a team. Truthfully, he like to consider himself on the fringes and left it up to the others to be The Musketeers, or whatever they were called.

Intermittently Chris would make phone calls to check on JD, whose condition remained unchanged, otherwise the binoculars were an extension of his eyes, constantly searching. His tenacity though finally brought results, "Three o'clock," he said suddenly. Ezra brought up his binoculars. A white van emerged through a thicket of trees, overhanging the road. Quickly, Standish saw Vin was a passenger. "Let's go," Chris said, hurriedly picking up the area so there would be no evidence of their presence.

From a safe distance they followed the van, using the same road they had been on the night before. While Chris drove, Ezra telephoned Josiah, "We have a sighting. We'll let you know when we know more.. .Yes . . .Fine. . .See you soon." Standish put down the antenna on his Star Tac phone. "Josiah is going to pick up Nathan and then go and retrieve Buck."

Chris took his eyes off the road and gave Ezra a questioning look at the mention of Buck.

"He wants in." Wilmington's need to stay with his friend was overridden by his want of justice. Standish just hoped Buck would control himself around Vin.

They entered the business district of downtown Denver. The van pulled to a stop in front of a four story brick building. They watched as Tanner, wearing blue coveralls, alighted the vehicle and slid open the side door. He took out a tool belt, wrapping it around his waist. He then grabbed a large, black, duffle bag. He said some words to the driver and entered the building. Ezra watched, there was going to be a resolution to this drama today.

* * *

Vin was able to charm his way past the young, curly haired, receptionist. He explained he was with the air conditioning and heating people and gave her a smile. A woman once told him he had, 'a smile that made your mind stop thinking and your heart beat a little faster.' He always hated when people said things like that to him. He was there to do the yearly required maintenance, he added. Her eyes dropped to his left hand, noting he was not wearing a wedding band and slipped him her phone number along with permission to enter the premises. With a quick, 'thank you miss' he entered the elevator. It was a quiet building, he had missed the morning rush and was there before lunchtime. From the fourth floor he found the stairs and exited to the roof. It was a clear day. The blue sky went on forever, perfect conditions for a sniper. Vin took off his tool belt, placing it by the door in a heap, and next peeled off the coveralls. Underneath he was wearing the same outfit he had worn when he had met Eli two weeks ago. He wanted to be comfortable in his own clothes. He unzipped the black bag, and carefully lifted out the MSG90, inspecting it closely. Eli had cleaned and oiled the gun. He took out the sun glasses which had also been placed in the bag. They cut down on the glare he would get from the asphalt. He went to the edge of the building which was facing his target area. He lay down on his belly and unfolded the legs of the rifle. He took out an elastic he had placed in his pocket earlier and pulled back his hair. He felt the stitches in his left arm tighten slightly with the motion, and tried to relax. He scanned the area through the scope, preparing to make any final adjustments to the sight in preparation for the hit.

When he saw Chris's unmistakable, black, Dodge Ram on the corner he let a slow smile form across his lips. Ezra was with him in the passenger seat. He looked through the scope and moved it around to see if the other men were in the vicinity. A few minutes later Sanchez's Explorer pulled up. Vin could make out Josiah, Nathan and Buck in the back. He felt even more relieved at seeing Wilmington. If JD were seriously hurt then Buck would not have left his side. JD must have woken up and told the team Vin expected something to happen soon. Vin felt the knot which had settled in his stomach, untie a bit. He had been ready to do what he needed to do to get the Cuoco family, but now the calvary had arrived. Woohoo! He wanted to say out loud. Maybe there was something to having some good men watch your back. He checked his watch, only fifteen minutes to go and this would be all over.

He heard the minutes tick by in his head. He didn't need to look at his watch again. He had one of those internal clocks which was never wrong. A dark sedan pulled up to the curb followed by the first limousine. Eli came out of the limo first, looking around and then nodding to the occupant of the vehicle. Dominic Junior, wearing pinstripes as usual, came out and was quickly surrounded by his men who had arrived in the sedan. They walked him into the glass enclosed foyer of the building. Vin could see he was talking to his men inside.

Tanner fidgeted as the other limo came into view. It seemed to be moving in slow motion, making its way to the high-rise building. It stopped, pulling closely to the rear of the other limo still parked. A huge, older man got out of the vehicle and looked around suspiciously. He was wearing a gray suit, Vin zoomed into the lapel-no carnation.

The back of Tanner's mind was still trying to figure out where he had seen the carnation. The red carnation! He remembered where he had seen it. In the slide Ezra had shown him when he decided to take on the mission. The hit was on Dominic Cuoco Senior, he was the one who had been wearing the flower. Junior wanted to kill his father. The mob leader exited the vehicle squinting in the sun, a red carnation prominent on the lapel of his black suit. Vin's shot rang out, and all hell broke loose.


	4. Chapter 4

Made Man Part 4

* * *

Vin's shot went exactly where he wanted it to go. The tinted, passenger side glass of the limousine shattered. Dominic Senior's henchman covered his boss's body, to protect him from anymore gunfire. Then he began firing at Vin's location. Tanner could hear the bullets chipping the masonry. Then suddenly it stopped and Vin peeked over the edge to see the limo speeding off. The large six door vehicle went around Josiah's SUV, which was attempting to block the road, and escaped. Chris's Dodge Ram blocked off the other route. Larabee, clad in black and Standish jumped out, Chris had his gun drawn and yelled,

"ATF!"

The occupants of the foyer did not like the new players and came out guns blazing. Vin watched as the team found cover: Ezra and Chris by Larabee's Dodge and Josiah, Nathan and Buck by Sanchez's vehicle. Vin stayed put, watching their backs. Tanner didn't see Eli getting away from the group and head towards the four story brick building across the street. He was too busy putting a bullet in the arm of one of the mobsters who was trying to take out Nathan.

In the background Vin could hear sirens. The Denver police were on their way. In the meantime the team was holding their own, forcing Junior's henchmen to fall back. Tanner was about to provide some more assistance, but then heard the cocking of a gun behind him. He closed his eyes, and dropped his head against the rifle. 'How could he let someone sneak up on him.'

"Turn around Tanner and roll away from the gun," said the man he had lived with for two weeks in a gravely tone.

The sharpshooter did as he was told. He rolled away from the gun, the chips of cement sticking to his suede jacket. He was laying down facing a pale enforcer. "Joey, I missed." Vin said, shrugging his shoulders, stating the obvious.

Eli squinted his eyes, "I noticed." He took a few steps so he was closer to Vin. "You have anything else to say?"

"You don't have to pay me." Vin spoke calmly, giving himself some time to slowly move his left hand down his leg to his boot which contained the knife.

Eli face flamed red with aggravation. "Years of plans ruined!" He yelled at Vin. Then he spoke more rapidly about his plan, "One chance to get only those loyal to Junior and who would support a takeover at the compound while the old man was away. I was going to be an caporegime." He explained, "I was going to be head of my own family! We were going to make it look like one of the other families had done it. There would be confusion-the best time to gain more power." Joey crinkled his face with disgust. "I shouldn't of trusted you. You never had the heart of a blood thirsty son-of-a-bitch. "

Vin had moved into a sitting position during Eli's revelations. He had bent his leg and could feel the hilt of the knife against his hand. "Yep, Joey and you were always a sick bastard," Tanner said matter-of-factly.

"Bye Tanner," Vin heard the shot go off and threw the knife. He knew he hadn't been fast enough and waited for the impact of the bullet. It never came. He saw the knife had hit Eli in the shoulder. Joey stood, his eyes glazed looking at Vin and fell forward, allowing Vin to see Chris holding a smoking Glock. Vin dropped his head back and looked up, glad he made it through another day without getting shot. Still looking up he spoke to Larabee.

"Thanks Pard," Vin tipped an imaginary hat towards Chris. He also noticed there was silence down below on the street, no gunfire.

Vin brought his head back and watched as Chris collected the bag, coveralls, and the MS690. "Guns are at the compound in a hidden room under the cabana."

"We'll take care of it." Chris motioned for the sharpshooter to stand up. "Come on, Vin."

Funny, he thought he would get a warmer welcome. He wanted to ask about JD, but he guessed Chris wanted to play it serious. Of course Larabee was usually very serious all the time. Sometimes he would let himself have fun, and Buck would always let them know, 'That's the Ol' Chris I know.'

Vin didn't know if that was to remind them all he was Larabee's oldest friend or to tell them all that Chris was a nice guy. Tanner didn't care, he liked Chris Larabee the way he was, the past made no difference to him. So, he would wait until he was debriefed to ask his questions and follow his boss's lead. They went down the metal fire escape, their footsteps echoing. This must of been how Chris had come up unnoticed. Buck was there waiting at the bottom, watching them making their descent.

Buck looked at Vin grimly, but only for a second before diverting his attention to Chris. "We got them. They're being mirandized right now."

"I need to go and arrange a warrant for the compound." Chris gestured to Vin. "He needs to be mirandized too, and Eli Giuseppe is on the roof -dead." Buck nodded. Larabee settled his blue eyes on Buck. "Can you handle it properly. Agent Wilmington?"

"Not a problem," Buck answered. Tanner and Wilmington watched as Larabee left them to tend to the other details of the bust. Vin wasn't expecting Buck to jerk his arm behind his back roughly, "You have the right to remain silent, if you. . ."

The sharpshooter hadn't expected to be treated with kid gloves, but weren't they all acting a little strange. They had done that whole pizza stunt to make sure he was okay and now he was being manhandled. What the hell was going on? Buck was leading him to a van. When they reached the open doors, guarded by two uniformed police officers, Vin could see Junior's men were inside. The same men he had shared meals with and gotten to know. Tony, who had shadowed Vin at the compound spoke to him.

"Eli?" He had noticed the enforcer was no where in sight.

"Dead," Tanner replied.

Tony stood up and started to come at the door yelling at Vin.

"You set him up!" The other men joined in and began stomping their feet. One of the police officers banged a club against the floor of the van telling them to be quiet, while the other pushed Tony back in. Buck propelled Vin towards the step of the large vehicle. He wanted to put him in the van with the other men. Vin twisted his head to look at Wilmington, no one can be this stupid, Tanner thought. I'll be dead by the time we reach the federal building. Buck was a fun guy, but when came to his job he was serious. If this was a joke, Vin was not finding it funny. The door of the van suddenly slammed shut, muffling the men inside. Josiah stepped forward.

"Buck, I'll take him off your hands." Josiah put his hand on Vin's arm. "He gets special accommodations."

Wilmington stepped back, as if to gesture 'he's all yours.' He walked off to where Ezra was talking to some police officers.

Tanner looked at Sanchez and nodded his head in thanks. Side by side they walked in silence to an awaiting police car. Vin could see Dominic Junior was also getting special treatment. He was seated in another police car in front of he police car Sanchez was directing him to.

Josiah opened the back door and gently pushed down on Vin's head. He sat back against the black vinyl seating looking at the plastic screen which partitioned him off from everyone else.

What had he done to tick Buck off?

* * *

Vin had paced the length of the interrogation room as he recounted his story of the last two weeks. Chris had taken it all in, but still hadn't answered his question. Did Chris really think he had gone bad?

Larabee glared at Tanner as if he was trying to see into the man's soul for the truth. "Can anyone back up your story?"

Purposefully Vin walked over to where Chris was sitting, and bent down to look at Larabee directly. "Well you killed one of them, and the other one is unconscious. Guess you are going to have to take my word." Vin slapped his leg and stood up, still not believing the situation he had found himself in. "Is that good enough?"

Chris stood up slowly. Tanner finally taking in the leader's disheveled appearance. Unblinking he looked at the sharpshooter. "Vin, it's good enough for me." He put his hand out for Vin to shake. Tanner clutched his right hand, hesitant to extend it. He had always gone with his gut instinct, had trusted these men. In the situations they had been placed in you had to, but damn, had they really thought he had gone over? Maybe now Chris had regretted his actions, but Tanner wasn't so sure he could forget it. He was confused. Part of him just wanted to let it go the other part of him was so angry he wanted to hit someone or something.

A knock at the door, diverted each man's attention, and Chris dropped his hand back. Through the small window Josiah's head could be seen. He entered when he received a nod from Chris. Vin noted Josiah was looking at the two men trying to gauge if they were friends or enemies. "JD is awake and asking for us."

Chris smiled and looked at Vin, who felt relieved at the news. "We're coming," Chris replied.

Josiah nodded, "Buck and I are heading out. Ezra and Nathan plan to catch a ride with you." Sanchez filled his supervisor in on the rest of the bust. "Team 3 went in and found the guns at the compound." Chris reached out and patted Vin on the back as if to say 'good job,' or maybe that was some sort of signal to let Josiah know all was well. The sharpshooter shook his head as if to brush off the praise. Josiah continued, "The rest of them have been booked on possession of firearms, conspiracy and racketeering." Sanchez turned to Tanner, "Good job, Vin. There has been no sign of Dominic Cuoco Senior."

"Thanks," he answered plainly. Josiah opened the door and Chris followed. Vin stayed put.

Larabee went to make a comment to the sharpshooter and noticed he had stayed behind. Chris stopped and turned around, "You coming?"

Josiah had also stopped at the door's opening and waited for Vin's response. "You all want me around?" Vin crossed his arms in front of him. "I mean Buck's trying to kill me and all."

"Come on." Chris glared at him, as if to say, just let it go. "You know Buck when it comes to the kid, and then he started running off at that mouth."

Vin wanted to know more. "And the rest of you believed him?" He directed his question to Josiah. "Doesn't seem like it was just Buck." His eyes flicked to Josiah as if to ask Sanchez if the older agent really believed that Vin would go in with Joey.

Sanchez sighed. "Vin, I'm going to be honest," Josiah took a step inside the door. "Buck made us think, and we were still making up our minds, waiting to see what you would say."

Vin closed his eyes and shook his head. He would accept it for now. Truthfully he wanted to see JD and make sure the kid was alright. The rest could wait till he had a chance to think on it.

Josiah went out ahead and Vin could see Buck waiting by the elevator eager to see JD. Tanner stood next to Larabee who signed him out, and handed him a plastic baggie with his belongings, including his car keys and ATF badge. In silence they made their way to the garage where Nathan and Ezra were waiting by the black Dodge Ram. Nathan was first to break the silence,

"Nice to see your back in one piece." Jackson looked him over from top to bottom to make sure he had no bullet holes.

"Yep," Vin knew he was just making small talk until they could find out what had happened from Chris or himself. He knew they were going on the assumption that if Chris had let him out then everything must be fine.

Ezra smiled and drawled, "Glad you are amongst us once more."

Vin again replied tersely "Thanks," and went to the back door of the black vehicle. He was not going to be glared at by Chris Larabee on the drive over to the hospital. Ezra looked surprised. His green eyes glancing from his leader back to Vin, finally he opened the front door and got in without a word.

They left the garage and Nathan turned to Vin, opening his mouth to talk to the sharpshooter. He then saw Jackson's eyes drop to his left arm. Nathan frowned and looked from the fresh blood to Vin's eyes catching his attention. "What happened?"

Vin shrugged his shoulders, looking at his sleeve realizing when Buck shoved him he must have popped a stitch. "Nothing, it's fine."

Vin felt the Dodge slowing down. Chris must have heard the conversation. "What's going on?" He didn't look back, but Ezra did and received an explanation from Nathan.

"Vin has blood on his sleeve," Jackson said to Standish.

Ezra looked at Chris, then smiled at Vin. "May I suggest you have Nathan look at the wound so that our leader can concentrate on driving us to the hospital."

Vin sighed audibly and rolled up his sleeve on his gray t-shirt to reveal the cut on his bicep. Gently Nathan placed his hands on Vin's arms and examined the wound carefully. "Nice stitches."

Tanner looked down at the neat, black stitches he had made yesterday, "Thanks."

Jackson's head jerked back. "You?"

"Yep, no one else to do it." Vin looked away, out the window. Yesterday his only worry was how long it was going to take for him to be killed. Hell, he had risked his life for them and they repaid him with mistrust. Now there was all this concern for him.

Nathan had found the problem. "You popped one."

Tanner was still focused on the scenery as it past, mostly nondescript buildings and cars. "Figured as much."

Ezra reported the discovery to Chris. "Seems as though Agent Tanner has another hidden talent as a tailor. He gave himself a few stitches. Nathan has surmised one of them has become dislodged. I believe due to the altercation with Agent Wilmington." Out of the corner of his eye Vin could see Chris tighten his hands on the steering wheel. Ezra looked from Chris to Vin's arm and then to the marksman himself. He sighed and then turned around.

Nathan offered some advice, not knowing what else to do since Vin had taken care of it himself, as usual. "Should clean it."

Vin worked the sleeve down his arm. They had pulled into the hospital parking area. "I'll do that."

* * *

Buck quickly exited the elevator and made his way to JD's room. He was a few steps ahead of Josiah, who had driven them to the hospital. Sanchez had tried to tell Buck about Vin but Wilmington did not want to hear about it. JD was awake and was going to be fine; Tanner could just wait. Buck couldn't quiet the nasty little voice that kept telling him it was all Vin's fault anyway. He was just damned lucky the kid had woken up.

Buck hit the door of room 2103. A huge grin broke out on his face as he saw the young agent; his forehead swathed with white gauze, propped up in bed, eyes open.

"Kid, it's about time!" He exclaimed as he went to the bed. Buck contained his exuberance and decided to let JD off with just a pat on the shoulder. "You had me worried," he added seriously, only to allow the grin to return a moment later. "I'm just glad you have a hard head."

Wilmington knew the young man didn't like all the attention. The times Dunne had been injured in the past he always said the others made him feel like a little kid.

JD shrugged off his friend's protectiveness. "I'm fine. Listen. . .," his dark eyes focused intently on Buck. The older agent couldn't help but notice the change in demeanor and knew something was wrong; he picked up the switch to call the nurse.

JD snatched the wire away, "It doesn't matter now, just listen. . ."

Josiah walked in, a smile on his face too. "Already giving orders JD?"

"Hi, Josiah, and no, I am not giving orders, just trying to do my job." Dunne accentuated the last few words. Buck stepped back, allowing the young man some breathing room and reminded himself that JD was an ATF agent too, not a child that needed to be coddled.

"Vin said it's going down soon." JD swallowed and brushed his hand against the bandage on his forehead. "That guy, Eli, is crazy! He shot me! I thought I was a goner. Last thing I remember was Vin pushing me...how did I get here?" The thoughts came out in a rush; an intelligent brain processing memories, situations and needs faster than his mouth could coordinate them.

The door opened again and the rest of the seven came in. The last person to enter was Tanner. Buck's smile dropped from his face when he saw the man and he unconsciously moved back next to JD's bed.

"Hey kid, nice to see ya." Vin drawled, looking happy and more than a little relieved to see the young man.

JD pushed himself up further on the pillows, blinking at Vin. "What's going on?" Dunne turned to Wilmington for an explanation. "What have I missed?"

Buck wanted to go into his version of the events. Might as well make the kid understand now that Vin had almost gotten him killed.

Chris interrupted, "I think Vin can explain it."

All eyes went to Tanner, except for Buck's. He kept his focus on JD.

In a detached manner, Vin relayed his story again. Finally drawing to a close in the same soft drawl in which he started, ". . .convinced Joey to change his plan and take you to Purgatorio, figured the team would find you once I put the signal on ya."

JD sat back against the pillows. "The signal was meant for you." Dunne shook his head. "But you're here, so it all worked out?"

Vin blue eyes stared intently at Buck. "Yeah, you could say that."

JD hadn't missed the stare nor the cool temperature in the room. The kid always knew when something just wasn't quite right with his family. "What's going on?"

Vin spoke up, but not in answer to Dunne's question. Rather, he responded more as if he hadn't heard it at all. "You get your rest, JD. I gotta go check on my apartment. The kids. . ." He slapped the younger agent on a foot that rested under the hospital sheets and slipped out before anyone could speak.

But before the door shut completely Buck uttered a soft curse and followed on his friend's heels, catching him in the hall.

"Vin."

Tanner stopped but didn't turn, forcing Buck to come further down the empty hall to face him. Vin didn't say anything, just gazed levelly at his teammate, waiting for him to say what was on his mind. Buck shook his head and stared for a moment at the gray Berber carpet beneath his feet, before finally meeting Tanner's eyes.

"Sorry, Vin, it's just when I saw JD and all. . .well..." he trailed off his apology and wondering, if he were Vin, would he take it. He realized he had become as stubborn as Chris. He didn't want to see the possibilities 'cause the kid was involved, and no one could take care of him like ol' Buck. He had found an innocent man guilty and at that moment it dawned on him - he wasn't sure how that man was going to react.

Tanner dropped his head slightly and did not make eye contact with Wilmington. "Yeah, Buck I understand."

Vin started again for the elevator, but Buck called out to him as he left. "Watch your back. Cuoco's men know your involved and you never know."

"I know."

"Why don'tcha wait, I'll give ya a ride."

"I'm fine."

"I could-"

"You could quit buggin' me and get back in and see JD." Vin had never stopped walking down the hall. Buck watched him walk away. How would he feel if when he came out of undercover he had been hit with his so-called friends not trusting him? Wilmington shook his head and quickened his step back to room 2103.

As soon as Buck had left the room JD scanned the faces of the men around him.

"Is someone going to tell me what is going on? What the heck did I miss?"

The others seemed reluctant to speak so Ezra took it upon himself to elaborate.

"There were...doubts raised as to Vin's connection to and dealings in...shall we say, nefarious activities associated with Eli Giuseppe."

"You thought Vin was crooked?"

Josiah responded in a soft tone, "We weren't sure what to think, son. Finding a friend unconscious and bleeding hardly helps the brain work as clearly as it should."

JD was still having trouble digesting what he was hearing. "He put the medal on me. That didn't give you a clue that maybe he was willing to risk himself."

Nathan attempted to explain, "Now, JD, Buck was only-"

But Dunne cut him off, "Buck is always trying to-"

At that moment Wilmington popped back into the room and JD continued his train of thought onto the object of his irritation.

"What's the matter with you Buck? I can take care of myself, and I trust Vin; which is why I volunteered. And the rest of you-what did you guys do? I'm out for 24 hours and everything falls apart. We are cops, and cops need to trust each other - at least that's what I learned in Boston."

Buck was caught off guard by the tirade thrown in his direction. "Whoa, whoa, hold up there, kid. You're right. You're right. I was stupid, and I just told Vin that same thing, and now I'm telling you." The look in Buck's eyes made it clear he was offering his apology for being such a horse's ass.

JD stared at his friend for several seconds before shaking his head in mock disgust and letting a smile cross his tired face. "You owe him a beer."

"That's fair."

"Ya owe me one, too."

"I can do that."

Chris spoke up, "We better get Buck outta here before he ends up owing us all."

Ezra cocked an eyebrow, "You say that like it's a bad thing."

Larabee ignored the southerner's comment, addressing JD again as the others made for the door, "We'll let you rest. We've got paperwork to do."

"Wait!" exclaimed Dunne, "You're just gonna walk out of here and not tell me what the heck I slept through?"

Buck exchanged a look with Chris and the team leader silently gave Wilmington permission to hold off on his own report writing for a bit longer. The others, knowing that Buck would stay, filed out, tossing back a few more comments as they left.

"We'll let 'the great exaggerator' there, fill ya in," offered Nathan.

"Take notes, JD," Josiah added, "you could have some screenplay material by the end."

Buck attempted to look wounded, "Just 'cause I know how to tell a story-"

"Tell a story', Agent Wilmington? I have heard people lie in front of a Federal Grand Jury and still be based closer in reality than your tales."

As the door closed behind Ezra the sound of a plastic cup hitting it caused Standish and his teammates to smile. "Apparently, his aim is about as accurate as his recollection of the truth."

* * *

He had not gone back to the house after almost being killed. He went to a safe house the family kept in case there was a war between the families. Evidence was pointing in that direction. There had been peace for so long now, who would want to tip the scales? The Dicicio's or maybe the Rantini family. If it wasn't for Nunzio, his most devoted man, being there. Then they arrested his son, and when he got home, he had decided not to hide from anyone, he found some ATF pezzonovante, big shot, waiting for him. The agent kindly escorted him to the federal building. The family's consigliare, Pietro, joined him. Pietro was Junior's age, he looked unruffled with his brown hair slicked back and immaculate navy blue suit. He knew nearly everything about the family's operations. He knew the Don so well that there is no need to speak. Pietro kept the faith.

The Don let his eyes flicker to the two way glass and shook his head. Did they think making him wait would intimidate him? He would wait and listen to what they would have to say, maybe they would give him some information on his son. Silence is golden, in fact the code of omerta or of silence was part of the oath a man took when he became part of the family. Dominic already had his consigliere talking to the federal judges that owed them some favors. Junior was being held on weapons charges, easy enough to sweep under the rug. It would all work out. He tapped his gold pinky ring against the dark, formica table.

A blonde man dressed in black came in to the interrogation room. Was this guy supposed to scare him? He grinned at his right hand man as if to say, 'Look another pezzonovante.'

"Special Agent Chris Larabee of the ATF." The man did not offer any handshake. He wanted the Don to know he did not respect him. He sat down, still not looking at Dominic. He opened a folder. "We found quite a lot of weapons on your premises."

As consigliare, Pietro was also one of the family's lawyers. "The house is not held by Mister Couco."

Larabee flicked through the folder in front of him, not looking up, "Whatever." Then he snapped the folder closed and looked at the Don. "Your son is currently being held for conspiracy to commit murder, specifically _your murder_."

Pietro laughed, "Premeditated murder? Agent Larabee where do you come up with these charges?" The consigliare relaxed back in the chair. "Father and son have an ideal relationship."

Chris smiled at the slick lawyer, "We had a man on the inside..."

Pietro loved a challenge and bent forward to meet Larabee, "Entrapment, tsk, tsk."

Larabee continued, "Not exactly. Our agent saved your employer's life." He directed his comments to the Dominic, "Seems as though your son wanted your alleged job and hired my agent for the hit."

Pietro was about to answer, but Dominic touched his arm. He had to think about this. . . Figlio di buttana, son-of-a-bitch! Him and that enforcer of his, Eli Giuseppe. He never liked the man. They planned this. Greedy bastards going against their padrone. And my son, my own son. . .It would have been all his one day, the young ones, they are all the same. They want it now. Ahhh, figlio mio, my son, you are going to get it. . .

The blonde man could see the Don was thinking about what had been said, "Let me assure you he is a crack shot and the shot at the window was a warning."

The Don tapped his lawyer on the shoulder to signal he was going to talk, "What do you want?"

Chris smiled to the angry Don, "Your assurances no one will harm Vin Tanner." Menacingly he added, "If my man even gets a paper cut, I will make your life a living hell."

The Don nodded his head. He owed this man, Vin Tanner, his life. Plus he knew if this Chris Larabee started a personal crusade against the family there would be problems, "Done, you have my word."

Larabee accepted and stood up, "You are free to go."

Dominic and Pietro stood up and headed for the door. The Don turned back to the agent, "The house is held in trust, with my son as trustee." His consigliare looked shocked. He had just hung his son out to dry. This meant all family support would be taken away from Junior. He was no longer part of the family. The Don no longer had a son.

They closed the door behind them and headed toward the hallway, "Pietro look into buying a television studio. Maybe we will start producing westerns. I need to relax."

* * *

Chris entered the viewing room which was attached to the interrogation room, feeling a little lighter in his step. JD was going to be released today and he had just prevented Vin from ending up on the Cuoco family's hit list. His agents had watched the whole discussion and were waiting for him.

"Nice job, Chris," Josiah said patting Larabee on the back.

Jokingly Ezra added, "Junior seems to have found himself in quite a predicament."

Chris looked for the sharpshooter, expecting the relieved man to step forward. Tanner wasn't among the group. "Where's Vin?" He asked his agents.

Nathan coughed, Ezra cleared his throat, Josiah looked at Buck who answered looking at the ground and very uncomfortable, "He never came in."

Larabee felt his anger rising, "You called?" He thought Vin was going to let the situation drop and go back to work. Chris didn't know who he was getting angry at, Vin for not coming to work, Buck for causing this whole mess or himself for not seeing this coming.

Buck met the leader's fiery eyes, "No one answered."

"He didn't call in," Nathan added wanting to dilute some of the tension between the two old friends.

Ezra must have had the same thoughts, "I fear Agent Tanner has taken grave offense of our treatment towards him."

Chris looked at his agents, and tossed the folder at the two way glass. "You blame him?" Larabee left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Ezra turned to Buck, "Did your apology have a tone of sincerity?"

Wilmington frowned, and his voice was tense with anger ."Yes, it did." He opened the door, and threw back to the others, "At least I apologized." The others looked at each other guiltily and followed.

Nathan caught up to Buck "We all messed up."

In his office, Chris looked at the post-its note on his phone. 'Gone to Nettie's. Need some time to think. Be back soon. -Vin'

He saw his agents leave the room, and he opened the door to tell them the contents of the note, and heard Nathan's comment. "Vin's taking a breather," he held up the note. But, Nathan was right they had fucked up the whole situation with the sharpshooter.


	5. Chapter 5

'I understand,' those were the words he said to Buck, and truly in a way Vin Tanner did understand Wilmington's reaction. Tanner had been going through it himself. He had felt guilty about JD being injured. In a way it was his fault; he should have found the young agent sooner. He should have blown his cover right there and then, told Eli to go to hell and gotten out of there. He didn't though. At the time he thought he made the right decision. Who would have guessed the others would start thinking the worse? Buck was the one closest to the kid and Vin knew he went into over protective mode where JD was concerned, but the rest of the team, especially Chris, should have been a sobering influence.

He felt the wind carry his long hair behind him as he drove to Nettie's ranch outside of Denver. He thought back to what had led him to take off this morning instead of going to work.

He had gone back to his apartment in Purgatorio after the hospital visit. The kids of the building had given him a warm welcome, and had informed him of the building's activities during the last two weeks. He promised Los Lobos, the gang he had formed, to take them out next week on an outing of their choosing. As he tossed the keys on the kitchen table, he surveyed his apartment. Everything was neat and tidy; the kids used his apartment to do their homework, but always cleaned up before they left. He unlocked the door to his bedroom. There he found his mail had been neatly piled on the nightstand, probably by Chris. One pile was junk mail sent to resident and the others seemed to be bills. Vin did his best Michael Jordan imitation and trashed the junk mail. Mindlessly, he shuffled through his bills. He had trusted Larabee enough to give him a key to his place and to check on things while he was gone. Shouldn't Chris have guessed this was an act of a man who trusted his friend? Trust did not come easy to Vin; he had been let down too many times before in the past. This time he thought his confidence was returned. They had failed him. A wound he had thought was healed was now picked open, and the scab would be slow to form.

He took a long hot shower, not caring about getting the stitches wet, finally stepping out when the water turned cold. He was tired, the two weeks on edge had finally catching up to him, and he fell into bed, exhausted. In the morning things would be better and he would go on like he always did.

He awoke suddenly to darkness; a glance at the clock told him it was five in the morning. He knew what he wanted to do. He had to get away, get over it, then he could get back to work. In darkness of his room grabbed the nearest articles of clothing, and headed toward the federal building. He didn't want to leave a voice mail or call Chris at home. A note would be better. A note would give him the excuse to go to the office and know if he belonged there. The highway was deserted and he was at the office in fifteen minutes, the cement building looked bleaker in the early morning. He parked the Jeep haphazardly in his parking space. Cuervo came out to greet him as his foot hit the pavement. He purred like a motor and rubbed against Vin's leg leaving his scent and marking Tanner as his human. Vin bent down to pat the cat.

"Nice to know they took care of ya," the sharpshooter said to the feline.

He left Cuervo resting by the Jeep and made his way to the elevator. The elevator opened to a dead office; no one was in yet. He passed by the empty offices and cubicles, which housed his friends. Buck and JD's desks filled with little toys caught his attention. He walked straight to Chris's office. He made quick work of the lock, and looked for some paper to write a note upon. He didn't know what to write, he saw the small, yellow, post-it notes, and scrawled out where he would be going. He left the building, feeling somewhat disjointed –it was as if he had never been there.

When he arrived back home he quickly tossed a few items in a well-worn duffel bag, and changed into a different shirt. Damn if he hadn't put on the bloodstained one from yesterday. He purposefully tossed it in the trash, trying too not to rehash Buck's rough treatment of him. Downstairs, some of the kids were waiting for the school bus to pick them up,

"Are you leaving again for a long time, Vin?" Asked Leticia, one of the youngest Los Lobos. The others also had concern written on their faces.

"You know I always keep my promises." He tossed his duffel bag into the rear of the Jeep. "I'll be back in plenty of time to take y'all out." He started his vehicle and waved as he pulled away from the curb.

He felt better once he left the traffic of the city behind him. It was easier to breathe on the open road, the flat terrain reminding him of Texas. He would be arriving at Nettie's soon. She was an hour out of the city. There he could make some decisions about his future.

It was the end of the day at the federal building, which housed Team Seven. Each of the members of the team had kept to themselves, busying themselves with the endless paperwork caused by the Couco bust. Buck though, knew the truth. No one wanted to talk about the Vin situation. It was bad enough when he had to pick up JD at the hospital and tell him the sharpshooter hadn't come in today. The youngest agent lit into him.

After they had gotten into the Chevy and closed the doors JD spoke again, not looking at Buck, "I don't want to go home right now."

"Kid. . ." the mustached agent started, but then gave up his protest. Buck didn't want to argue anymore. "Let's just go back to the office." He's take the heat from Nathan for his poor judgment again.

JD nodded and there was another silent ride to the federal building. The young agent had stayed at his desk for the rest of the day, occasionally giving Buck looks of disgust.

Wilmington was up to his breaking point now. He had fed the crap about Vin to the rest of them and they had eaten it up. He had to do something or else this team was going nowhere. He started with JD first.

"Hey, how about after work we go to the Saloon?"

JD shook his head. "I'd rather not. . .I'm kind of tired."

Buck sat down on the edge of the desk. "I'm buying and I'm gonna to invite the others."

JD began to tap a pencil against his desk blotter. "I don't know. I can't drink."

"Look kid, I am trying to make it up to all of you." Wilmington slid off the desk and stood up, beseechingly asking his best friend for some faith. "Give me a chance."

Dunne stopped the nervous tapping. He looked up at his roommate and nodded. Buck rewarded the young man with a grin, and moved on to his next target. If it was this hard to convince JD then Buck was not looking forward to talking to the others.

Wilmington went to Standish next. Buck never understood why Ezra never decorated his area. Buck always had to leave his mark, kind of like a sign that read 'BUCK WILMINGTON WAS HERE.' The well-dressed man on the other hand seemed to have a sign that said, 'Temporary.'

"Ez, are you doing anything tonight?"

Standish never looked up from the paperwork in front of him. "Not that I am aware of Agent Wilmington."

"Do you want to join me and JD at the Saloon tonight after work?" He hated talking to people without being able to see their faces.

Ezra stopped reading, and folded his hands in front of him. "Do you believe that is wise under the circumstances?"

"Yeah, I do, we need to talk." Wilmington said as he removed all traces of his usual joviality so that Standish would know he was serious.

Ezra nodded, his green eyes blinked with understanding. "I'll see you there this evening."

Buck felt his mouth go dry. This is what begging must do to a man. He headed for the water cooler. Nathan was already there getting a cup of coffee.

Buck filled his paper cup with water. "Nate, wondering if you wouldn't mind coming to the saloon tonight?" He asked nonchalantly.

Nathan continued to stir his coffee. "Okay, Buck" He tossed the plastic spoon and left, taking his java fix back to his desk.

Wilmington was relieved that had gone easily, and crumpled the paper cup before tossing it in the closest wastebasket. He figured Josiah would readily agree also. He found Sanchez in his office, rearranging the sands of his Zen garden. "Josiah, I am trying to get everybody to meet at the saloon tonight-can you make it?"

"Sure, Buck," he used the rake and made a wavy line. "Have you asked Chris yet?"

Buck's hand went to the back of his neck where he felt the tension of the upcoming confrontation building. "I was saving him for last."

Sanchez chuckled, but continued to concentrate on his garden. "He just finished interrogating Junior." Josiah changed the position of a rock. "He brought the man to tears-I'll pray for you brother."

Buck was glad the large man was de-stressing with his garden, but Wilmington had the temptation to pick it up and throw it out the window. "Thanks Josiah, you're all heart."

Buck slowly maneuvered himself through the maze of cubicles to his leader's office. Maybe Chris had worked out some of his frustration with Dominic Junior? From the distance he saw Larabee slam the phone down. This was not going to be easy. Wilmington knocked and entered as usual without waiting for a reply.

"Buck," the blonde man growled, angrily typing at his computer.

"Wanted to know if you wanted to go to the saloon with the rest of the team after work?" Buck had positioned himself near the door frame.

"Leave it alone, Buck," Chris slammed his hand against the keyboard in frustration and what he felt was the futility in the Vin situation.

Wilmington moved closer to the desk, wondering if he had heard his friend correctly. "What are you saying?"

Larabee slid the keyboard back under the desk. He rubbed his eyes. He knew exactly what he was saying to Wilmington. He knew 'The Magnificent Seven' couldn't last; something had to break them up eventually. The back of his mind had thought they would all go down in a blaze of glory standing up for each other. They didn't trust Vin. He hadn't trusted Vin. Maybe the others didn't trust each other. There was always going to be that doubt about how much you really knew a man? They had warned him when he made up a team of mostly loners. It was a self-fulfilling prophecy he had helped along. What the fuck was his problem, not trusting a member of his own team. "I don't know if this can be fixed or if I or the rest of them really want to fix it." Sighing, he told Buck what was on his mind. "Maybe it's time to move on."

"Dammit Chris!" Buck bellowed in outrage and then lowered his voice as he noticed some of the office personnel had heard the outburst and were staring. "We work well together! Just come to the saloon."

Larabee looked past Wilmington through the glass of his office to the outside area. If he were Tanner he would never forgive his so-called 'best friend.' "Maybe," was his one word answer.

Buck gave his friend a grin. "I'll take maybe." He left before the blonde leader changed his mind to 'no.'

Vin was on the dirt road which lead to Nettie Wells's ranch, the dust from the dry road left a brown cloud in his wake. He met Nettie when he started with the ATF. A suspected gun runner, Guy Royal was also a self-acclaimed real estate developer and wanted to buy Nettie's ranch due to its proximity to the highway. He wanted to turn it into a mall, and was using scare tactics. Vin immediately wanted to protect her. She was a strong woman and Vin thought that had his mother lived then she would have been like Nettie Wells.

Vin noticed that although the small ranch was operating running cattle and bringing it to market, it was a bit shabby and needed some work done so Vin took it upon himself to help Nettie when he could. Although she protested from pride, she paid him back with cooking and motherly tenderness that he had sorely missed.

Nettie was gardening when she saw her boy's Jeep coming up the drive. She and her husband had never been blessed with children, but she always thought she was fine since she was a teacher working with them. She had taken up raising some crops since she had retired from being a teacher, supplementing the ranch's income. She missed teaching, but there was a mandatory retirement age in the district.

She saw the life-weary man get out of his car and wave to her. She had remembered when she met him. He had come to the house to interview her with his supervisor, Chris Larabee. She didn't want to admit that she had been afraid of Guy Royal, but the young agent vowed he would protect her. He did just that, checking in on her and staying with her until Guy Royal was jailed.

They had spent time together, and she shared her love of poetry. She felt a soft spot for the boy when she saw the way he would close his eyes as she read poetry. Sometimes she had found herself picking pieces especially for him. She still remembered the Yeats poem, which made her think of the young man.

_Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,_  
_Enwrought with golden and silver light,_  
_The blue and the dim and the dark cloths_  
_Of night and light and the half light,_  
_I would spread the cloths under your feet:_  
_But I, being poor, have only my dreams;_  
_I have spread my dreams under your feet;_  
_Tread softly because you tread on my dreams._

She knew he was motherless and looked to her in that way. She didn't discourage it; there was room in her heart for Vin Tanner and her niece, Casey and for others. She also didn't discourage his help after the case was concluded. He was finding excuses to see her.

One Saturday she found the young man on her doorstep as she went to get the morning paper from her stoop. "Good morning Vin. What brings you here?" She had said trying to hide the surprise in her voice at finding him there.

"I was figurin' you could use a little bit more help around here." He gestured to the ranch, which had seen better days. Nettie had a small, loyal crew that helped run the ranch. She did her best, but many jobs had been left undone.

She knew what this boy was trying to do. She sat down beside him. "I can't have that. I don't have the money to pay for more help."

He shook his head. "You don't have to pay me. It's good to work with your hands."

She knew stubbornness when she saw it. "Well, if you are going to be doing some work, I think you'll be needing a fortifying breakfast." She opened the screen door, and gestured for him to come in. "How do pancakes sound?"

She had fed him and he had put in a full day's work. Over time she would find Vin on her doorstep, and he shared a bit of himself with Nettie. There was no bitterness in his voice when he had told her of how cruel fate had been to a young boy, just acceptance and determination to do better.

She watched as he parked the well-used Jeep, and went into the barn to check on one of his horses, Bounty. He boarded the horse with her in exchange for upkeep of the ranch, although he did more in work than the upkeep was worth. He knew he had another horse, Peso which he boarded with Chris. Many times he even dragged his friends from work to help out. She found them to be a friendly bunch, and young JD had started to date her niece Casey.

She squinted, as she looked up, the sun in her eyes. Her guest was standing above her. "Vin, what are you doing here?" She placed the spade in the ground, and brushed the dirt off her gardening gloves.

He placed his beat up hat on his head, the one he kept in the barn, as he answered. "Just came to check on things."

Nettie shaded her eyes with her hand. "Your friend Chris came by to check on Bounty."

"Mighty kind of him," he said looking around at what needed to be done at the ranch today, and not meeting her sharp eyes.

"You're playing hooky aren't you?" She said with the same tone of voice she used when someone had been tardy for her class.

Vin ignored her comment. "I'm going to fix some of the fencing that's out on…."

She stood up and shook her head. "Boy, remember thinking about your pain only makes it worse." She didn't want to see him tear himself up or wallow in guilt or whatever emotion had been stirred up in him.

"I know Ms. Nettie," he said as he walked back to the red barn.

She watched the retreating back of the man that had become like a son to her. 'What did you boys do to my Vin?'

Chris Larabee quickly maneuvered his Dodge Ram into the available parking space in front of the saloon. He threw the vehicle into park and pulled his black baseball cap down lower over his eyes as he entered the dive his team had designated as their place. It was a quiet night, but there was still the murmuring of people talking at other tables-except the one in the corner, which seemed to exude a silent hostility among the five men seated there. Chris walked past the bar, harshly lit by the track lighting above and gestured to Inez for his usual. One shot-everything came down to one shot. One shot of a bullet could end your life and one shot of whiskey could make you sit with a team of men knowing it all was falling apart.

Larabee made his way to the back and slipped in to his usual chair. An empty seat was next to him, "Are we going to analyze this like a bunch of women?" He said disgustingly. All this talking was not going to bring Vin back. It was just going to throw salt into open sores.

"Chris, glad you could join us," Buck smiled, and kept that smile plastered on his face as Inez deposited the shot of whiskey before the blonde. Two pitchers of beer lay on the well-worn table, one was still filled, the other half empty and the glasses in front of each man had hardly been touched.

"Don't know why I am here." He said as he downed the shot of whiskey. "We shit on him. The man is supposed to be like a brother to us and we . . "

Ezra tapped his ring against the table listening to its staccato rhythm. "Yes we know, as you eloquently said we shit on him. How can we repair the damage? You all want to make amends."

JD took a swallow of water, and wiped the dampness from his upper limp. "I didn't shit on him. I was unconscious." He looked at all of them. "You guys dug the hole all by yourself."

Chris looked at the young agent and wondered if it had been anyone other than the young innocent one would this had even happened? But his smugness was beginning to grate on Larabee. On Buck too, Chris saw the flare in Wilmington's eyes and knew his friend had reached his breaking point on this guilt trip the kid was putting him through. "Okay JD you can stop making us feeling worse any time now. This is your fault anyway."

"My fault?" JD slapped his hand on his forehead and winced in pain as he made contact with the bandage. "Hello," he waved his hand in front of Buck. "I was unconscious when you guys started to have all these delusions."

Larabee's usually reserved undercover agent added fuel to the fire, obviously getting frustrated that this meeting was leading nowhere. "Yes, but your bleeding, seemingly dead form sent Agent Wilmington into an uncontrollable diatribe against Agent Tanner." Ezra said harshly.

"Yes! I did it." Buck raised his voice and poked himself in the chest and rising from his chair. "I'll take all the blame, but I didn't hear you all piping in to save Vin's name."

Chris glared at the three men boring a hole into their minds that was telling them to stop making a scene. Not everyone in the bar needed to know they were a bunch of idiots. They quieted down and Wilmington sat down dejectedly in his seat.

Slowly and menacingly the leader said his peace, "My team-My fault. This would have never happened if I hadn't let JD go in to check on Vin." That is where the problem started with his stupidity. A little over aggressiveness and cockiness and life had a way of putting you back into your place or worse.

Josiah pulled his chair in closer to the table. "Brothers we are not getting anywhere here."

"Ah the voice of reason," Ezra flippantly commented as his seat scraped against the greasy floor and he got up to leave.

Nathan grabbed the undercover agent's arm. "He just needs time. He'll come back –right?" His rich dark eyes looked at the others for confirmation and hope. Standish returned to his seat albeit with a frown on his face.

"We are an unconventional group." Chris had brought them together thinking the seven men would be an incredible law enforcement force able to overcome each of their individual weaknesses. "In all our cockiness we forget there had to be trust," Chris signaled to Inez to bring him another shot. Again there was silence among the six.

"We can sit here looking at each other or we can try to make things right." Josiah stated trying be a voice of reason amongst the dejected group of men.

"What do you want to do, ambush him at Nettie's?" Buck twitched an eyebrow up trying to gauge the reaction of the others.

Inez sauntered over another shot, and the table let the conversation drop until she left. "Not a good idea. He doesn't like to talk." Chris said as he downed the shot, "remember?"

Wilmington frowned as he saw Larabee take another drink. "Yeah, that is the boy's problem." Buck shook his head at how unlike himself Vin was, "Hell if he talked more it would never had happened."

Ezra turned to his leader, looking for answers from the man who was supposed to know Vin the best. "So we are just going to wait for our wayward comrade to return to his place of employment?" It was a chance he was never given with the FBI.

"Yep, he'll come back." Larabee turned the shot glasses over. Chris knew he would comeback, not for them, but because he needed a job. The question was how long he would stay, and how long it would take for the team to self-destruct. "We are going to put this behind us and get back to work and do a wait and see. Agreed?"

They all nodded in agreement. The team seemingly relaxed, believing it was going to be business as usual and they would have a chance to make things right with Vin. The same trust they did not give Vin they gave wholeheartedly to Chris. Larabee wanted to laugh, they believed a man who had to drink two shots to actually start deluding himself that maybe Vin would listen to them and accept their apologies.

"Better practice apologizing and groveling Brothers." Josiah said sagely finally taking a drink from the mug in front of him.

Nettie heard the water streaming in the shower. The sun had just come up, many mornings Nettie had seen it come over the horizon, as she had gotten older sleep seemed more allusive. Vin was getting an early start. He had mentioned last night he was going out to mend some fences along the perimeter of the ranch. She slipped on her bathrobe and found her slippers against the nightstand. Making her way to the kitchen she found her cast iron frying pan and started the sausage and eggs. Vin smiled as he entered the kitchen, the smell of breakfast cooking had made its way through the house. He reached for a plate, and poured himself a cup of coffee. Nettie could see his hair was still wet and leaving a spot on his untucked twill shirt. She scooped some eggs and sausage on to his plate. He sat down at the old oak kitchen table. Nettie rested against the white Formica counter and sipped her coffee.

She watched him eat heartily as if he had nothing on his mind except for breakfast. "I let you stew yesterday. Do you want to talk?" She said as Vin took his last bite.

"Nope, ain't nothing you can do," he said as he drained the cup of coffee. "It's work related, between the team and me."

She shook her head as he deposited the plate in the sink. "You'd be surprised at what an old gal like me can do."

"I'll be gone awhile, probably be back around dinner." He said as he exited the back screen door, ignoring what she had said.

Nettie washed the plate, and dried it roughly with the blue checked cotton cloth. She was going to get to the bottom of this, and she knew the person to start with was Chris Larabee. She didn't even finish the thought when the phone began squealing. Who would be calling at 5:30 in the morning? She rushed to the phone hoping it wasn't bad news.

"Hello," she practically yelled into the phone.

"Ms. Nettie, it's Chris Larabee. I'm sorry to be bothering you so early in the morning," said the voice on the other end of the receiver.

"You should be sorry Mister Larabee," the older woman sank down into the spindle back chair, which was by the phone. "You gave me quite a start."

"Yes, I'm sorry, but I was hoping to speak to Vin." Chris replied to her all business like.

"He's not here." Her previous experience with Larabee had told her this was a man with many demons, much like Vin in that both would need some prodding from Nettie to work this out. "He went out to mend some fences."

There was a pause, "Okay, if you could. . ."

Nettie pushed forward, "I'm thinking you need to mend a few yourself." She heard only breathing coming through the phone. Vin had not told her what had sent him to the ranch, and knowing Larabee he wasn't going to tell her either. Chris was more tightlipped than Vin. In fact most of what she knew about Mister Larabee was from Casey. JD liked to talk about his friends. "I don't know what's going on, but I do know my boy isn't happy."

"Ms. Nettie, I'm sorry to have bothered you."

"Too late, I am bothered, but you can make it up to me."

"And how can I do that?"

"Come to my place tonight for dinner and talk to Vin." She didn't wait for his reply as she hung up the phone. Nettie was going to call the shots now.

She quickly took a shower feeling refreshed and alert, not in all part from the shower. What she missed most of all about being a teacher was the sense of being needed. There was nothing like involving yourself with children, even when they believed they were mature men. The phone rang again.

"Hi, Ms. Nettie," the former teacher recognized the voice immediately as JD.

Chuckling Nettie poked fun at the young man. "JD, you know better than myself that Casey is not here. In fact, how is my niece? I believe you spend more time with her than I do."

"Fine, fine," he replied. His voice went an octave higher, "actually I was wondering if Vin was around."

"He's busy right now," she mentally placed a check by his name. "Come by for dinner tonight. He'll be happy to see you." The young man agreed unhesitatingly. Nettie went to take the large roast out of the freezer, looked like the team was going to come for dinner.

Nettie went about doing her chores, keeping the portable phone Vin had given her in her apron pocket. Throughout the morning the phone calls came in. The older woman had the feeling that no one on the team knew the other was calling. She kept up the pretense. They would all find out soon enough.

Nettie had just finished feeding the chickens when Nathan called. The last time he had visited he had spoken about herbal remedies. Nettie had complained about her sleeping habits.

"How's the insomnia Ms. Nettie?"

His concern for her touched her. She didn't want Vin to lose these friends over some foolish incident of male stubbornness and pride. In her experience that is what it always seemed to boil down to. "I can't seem to find that Valerian herb you suggested I take for my insomnia."

"I'll send some to you." She could hear him writing a note to remind himself later. "I was wondering if I could speak to Vin?"

She smiled, three down and three to go. "Why don't you bring it over tonight say around dinner time and you can see Vin too."

She was preparing the roast when Josiah's timbered voice greeted her next. For the larger man she went straight to the stomach.

"I'm making my pot roast tonight. It'll be too much for Vin and myself. Why don't you come over?"

"Why ma'am I have never turned down a fine meal." Nettie shook her head; you had to love a man who had meat on his bones. She was always trying to fatten up Vin, but she had yet to be successful. She whistled a tune as she rubbed the herbs into the meat. Buck would be calling anytime now.

She almost didn't recognize Buck Wilmington's voice on the phone. He sounded different.

"Ms. Nettie, how are you?"

"Fine Buck, life with JD wearing you down?" She said jokingly. She knew from Casey that Buck loved that boy like a brother.

"No, I just have some business with Vin. Is he around?" Wilmington said seriously, no hint of his usual joviality.

Nettie frowned in puzzlement over the mustached agent's tone. "No, Buck he went out. He'll be back later though."

"Is Vin in a good mood?"

"I don't know Buck; something seems to be bothering him." She paused as if she just came up with the idea. "If you want to speak to him in private why don't you come for dinner?"

"My last meal before I lose my teeth," Buck mumbled.

Nettie was unable to make out all the words. "Excuse me Buck. I didn't hear you."

"Thank you Ms. Nettie. I'll see you tonight." She hung up the phone. Only one more left.

It was late in the afternoon when she received the last phone call. From what Vin had told her about Ezra Standish, she had expected it. He was constantly late for work. She had never met the reportedly well-dressed man, or as Casey had said, 'fashion plate.' She answered the phone on the second ring.

"Mrs. Wells, unfortunately I have not had the pleasure of your acquaintance as of yet . . ." She heard the southern gentleman say.

"You must be Ezra Standish," she exclaimed and heard a pause on the receiver. She had caught him by surprise.

"Well, yes, I am," he replied cordially. "I was calling to inquire about Agent Tanner."

"He's not here," this was the only man of the team she had not met. Vin had invited him many times, but he always made an excuse, but Vin had mentioned that Ezra refrained from menial labor. "I am curious Mister Standish, why haven't you come to the ranch. I know Vin has invited you on many occasions."

"Madam, honestly since moving to this section of the country I find myself caught up in taking in the beauty of Denver. In addition my free time is lacking and there have been times when . . . "

Nettie interrupted Ezra's speech. Vin was right, he was a talker and he had the worst excuses. "So it has nothing to do with my cooking?"

"No Madam, I have never tried your cooking."

"Well, you will tonight. I guess I get to make your acquaintance after all." Nettie smiled as she hung up the phone. That was all of them.

The roast was cooking and the potatoes boiling. Dinner would be ready on time. Nettie snapped the tablecloth over the table. She still had no idea of what had caused the split between the team, and Vin was not going to like coming back to find the six men at the kitchen table. She began to place a plate by each chair. This was her home and just like in her classroom, she was going to be respected. These boys were going to solve their problem tonight.

The sun was setting, filling the sky with reds, purples and oranges stretching wide over the horizon. Normally Vin would have enjoyed the wide-open space and the time on his own. Today though he was busy. He had fixed all of the fencing, replaced stakes and barbed wire where necessary, taking his time with the task, concentrating on clipping the wire carefully and meticulously so as not to have to spend time thinking about the team.

Instead while he worked, his mind drifted to when he had first learned about ranching. His mother had passed away, and immediately social services swooped down and placed him in a foster home. He had been placed with an elderly couple. The old man, Jack needed a hand around the ranch and the elderly woman, Beverly thought instead of hiring someone, they might as well take in a foster child and be paid. He had stayed there for four years. He slipped through the cracks of the Texas DSS. The old man had taught him a fair amount about horses and maintaining a ranch even though he was young. It was hard work, especially for a six-year old, but Vin found out he liked being around the horses. When Jack died, Beverly decided to sell the ranch to a commercial developer and buy a condo. She had no use for Vin and called social services to take him away.

Tanner looked back at the last post he had repaired, and slipped into his jacket, which he had rested against the saddle. He took off his tan leather work gloves and slapped them against his leg to remove any residual dust before placing them into his pocket. He mounted Bounty and urged the horse into a trot. He was enjoying the wind going past him and pushing his suede jacket closer against his body, the closeness of the fabric providing some extra warmth. The only reminder of what had occurred of late was the stitches. They had started to itch and mentally Vin noted he had to remove them in a couple of days. He let his mind pull away from the present-he didn't want to think about them; instead he allowed it to wander again among his remembrances.

As a child, one of the few memories of his mother was a game they used to play. She would start with I remember, and it would lead to humorous anecdotes of what happened during the week. Vin smiled at the memory of his mother laughing so hard tears would stream down her cheeks. Tonight though, when he remembered, he didn't laugh.

He felt his anger rise, crashing him into the present. He was backed into a corner. He needed a paycheck so he had to go back to work. Things though, were going to be different. He made this resolution to himself. He was not going to get hurt again.

The lights of the white ranch house were beckoning. He smiled as he thought of Nettie Wells. Nettie's home represented to him what he most craved-a place where he was wanted. She was always there. She had never turned him away. She had never said he wasn't wanted.

He dismounted and led Bounty into the barn. The smell of the fresh hay tickled Vin's nose. The ranch hands had worked today, cleaning out the barn. He slipped the bridle and bit from the horse's mouth, and then went to take off the splint boots. Lastly he uncinched the saddle and brought it to the tack room, locking the small room before returning to Bounty to brush down his coat. Once he was finished he placed the horse in its stall. The horse carefully prodded its hooves in the soft sawdust. Vin slipped the door closed and wished Bounty a goodnight. He went through the back door, which led into the kitchen. He didn't notice Nettie's front yard had turned into a parking garage.

The screen door closed with a clatter behind him. He smiled and his mouth watered as he smelled the aroma coming from the kitchen. "Nettie, I can smell your pot roast. I am gonna clean up first before I sit down with ya." He was dusty and sweaty and smelled of earth. A hot shower suddenly seemed the most important thing to do.

He stopped dead in his tracks, scuffing the linoleum floor with his boots as he saw the sight in front of him.

"Vin, look who's come for dinner," Nettie said happily.

Vin quickly shut his mouth, which had fallen open. He narrowed his eyes as he saw the six men of the team standing around Nettie's kitchen table.

The older woman still had a fake smile plastered on her face. She could also feel the tension in the room. "Vin Tanner you will wipe that look off of your face right now in my house." She reached out and moved his chin so that he was looking right into her eyes instead of making the men in her kitchen more uncomfortable than they already were. "I can have any guests I want to and you will show respect, Mister Tanner."

Chris, his so called best friend, was first to speak among the men. "Vin, we didn't realize we were all going to be here." He didn't look at Vin; instead he grasped on to the chair in front of him and looked straight ahead.

Ezra spoke up next, offering an explanation. He looked out of place in his latest black designer suit among the vintage kitchen. "Let's see, Buck was supposed to be going out with his latest paramour, JD was going out with Casey, Chris was working late, Nathan was seeing Rain and Josiah was meditating." He looked at each man shaking his head at their poor excuses.

"What about you?" JD said in exasperation. "You said you were going to a show."

Ezra opened his arms wide. "And aren't I? This is quite a show."

In a carefully measured voice that denied the anger the sharpshooter felt at having his sanctuary interrupted he turned to the older woman. "Ms Nettie, would you mind if we," he gestured to the men with a nod of his head, "talked outside?"

"No, Vin, I am not going to stop you from going outside." She said a little dejected that her plan was not working properly.

The men all nodded and filed out the front door through the living room. Vin hung back and watched the others leave, he started to exit when he felt something grip his arm. He looked down to see Nettie's wizened hand upon his dusty suede jacket.

"Boy, everything you want is right there if you give them a chance," she said with an air of confidence. Tanner gritted his teeth. He realized Nettie was only looking out for him, but he wanted to stew a little longer. He had come to some conclusions while he was riding and he was going to keep the promises he had made to himself. Vin kissed Nettie's cheek to show her she was forgiven for meddling and went out the door.

All the cars were in the front and the owners of the vehicles were gathered near Ezra's Jaguar, the last car in the row. They had formed a semi-circle waiting for him to complete it. Vin stuffed his hand in his pockets and went over, standing in front of them, but far enough away so that the circle remained incomplete.

Chris stepped forward, the wind carrying his blonde hair so it blew around his face. "Vin, I'm sorry, as team leader. . ."

Vin rubbed his temple, already frustrated by the men in front of him. They were friggin going to try to be nice to him. It reminded him of foster homes where they were kindly and nice to the social workers, but to the kids in their care it was another story. Damn he was pissed. "A Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom,"

"Sincerity," Nathan said without hesitation looking straight at Tanner.

"Benevolence," Josiah continued.

"Courage," Buck whispered. JD looked at him strangely.

"And strictness," finished Ezra.

"What are you all talking about?" JD said, glancing around at all the men who looked at each other silently surprised.

"The Art of War by Sun Tzu, the oldest military strategist." Ezra explained to the young agent. "The discussion, it seems, has turned to literature."

Chris looked furious. He knew he had just been insulted. "So by everyone's standards I suck at my job," he spat out. "Is that pretty much it, Vin?" The sharpshooter stayed silent, happy to finally get someone other than himself riled up. Chris took a step backward into line with the other men. He closed his eyes as he tried to control himself. "This isn't why we came."

Ezra tried his own brand of kindness. He put his hands out as if he was a greedy televangelism waiting for God to drop a stack of Ben Franklins in his awaiting arms. "Agent Tanner please be assured we did not have malicious intentions."

"What am I supposed to think-they were honorable? 'Honorable,' that's your kind of fucking fancy word." He laughed and pointed at Wilmington. "Buck was going to watch those guys kill me! He was going to put me in a truck with the same men I took down." Vin didn't know who to blame - Chris, for stupidly handing him over to Buck or Wilmington. At that moment Buck and Eli Giuseppe were tied for the title 'homicidal idiot'. "That would have been 'quite a show,'" Tanner said using the same words Ezra had used moments before. This was getting nowhere, Vin felt the need to explode and lash out- he really only wanted to know one thing. He took his hands out of his pockets. "Do you trust me?" No one answered right away, Vin exhaled a frustrated breath.

"Yes, I trust you with my life-hell you saved my life." Nathan finally said. He waited to see if Vin was going to interrupt him. "I just don't know what to say to make you believe it."

Josiah started preaching, "We can't go back in time to change anything, Brother. I wish we could. We can ask for a new start though and another chance?" Where were the crows when you needed them to crap on someone. Another chance? Vin Tanner was not going to give anyone a second chance. He had learned that lesson –how many times did he change fosters homes before he figured out the foster families could give a shit or that the military would hang you out to dry for their own gain.

JD stepped forward and walked to where Vin was standing, "Look Vin I know they suck and they royally screwed up, but they are trying." The rest of the team was going to give JD a lot of ribbing for sharing those thoughts. Well at least he could say he had saved JD's life-one good thing had come out of the whole Cuoco family fiasco.

"Kid, they ain't trying. They are giving my fucking eulogy." Vin starting walking to the house, past Chris who was about to say something to try and prove he trusted Vin. It wasn't going to work, on his gravestone he didn't want it to say-'Vin Tanner, a stupid shit who gave everyone a chance to walk all over him.'

"You're a coward Vin Tanner," Buck yelled at the retreating agent. "We are not leaving you. You walked away and we found you. We are not letting you leave, but I guess you are taking the chicken's way out and just up and leaving."

"Here, here," Ezra agreed. "I've been in your place and no one in Atlanta came after me. In fact they gave me a plane ticket and a warning never to come back." Ezra was referring to his time at the FBI when innuendo and rumor had almost killed his law enforcement career.

Vin turned squarely on his heel. He ignored what Ezra said, focusing on Buck. Who the hell did he think he was? With a primal yell he ran at Buck taking the larger man down with a football tackle aimed at his knees. But instead of letting Wilmington slump down to the ground Vin twisted his hand into Buck's latest tie-died shirt, so that with his right hand he was holding the mustached agent up. His left hand was free and all the malice he had been feeling toward Buck Wilmington came crashing into the older agent's chin with a left hook, which lifted Buck off the ground. Vin let his right hand let go as if he was holding garbage and watched as Buck landed in the dirt.

Vin stormed past the team noticing how they had remained silent during the attack. Chris and Josiah were holding a shocked JD back.

He put one foot in front of the other and stopped at the barn. He let his head fall against the clapboard structure. The pounding in his head kept the same rhythm as the thumping in his left hand. Damn when did I start to lose control? He looked at his left hand, and opened it and closed it, feeling the pain spiraling through his nerves. He laid it flat against the barn stretching the sore knuckles. The voice inside of him was telling him to run away-far away. He would leave, it was easier. Easier. . .It was the coward's way out.

He looked up to the night sky. The stars were squinting at him. He slowed down the thoughts running through his head and sighed. That shithead Buck was right. He looked back at the six men he had come to know. They hadn't left him alone. They were still there; Buck was standing up, leaning against JD. They could have gotten in their cars and left, but they hadn't. Ezra made a lot of sense, too. They were right there, waiting and hoping for a second chance from the sharpshooter.

God, he needed a drink. He swallowed-his pride and his anger. They were going to have to earn his trust. He was only going to give them a chance. Emily Tanner did not raise a coward. She would have wanted him to be a man who was willing to take risks. This was as good a time as any to show some courage and the team wanted him around. He was tired of running away, searching for something better. Maybe this was the best it got-a place where men were willing to fight to have him stick around for a while.

He strode back to where they were still waiting for him. JD eyed Vin leeringly, and put his arm around Buck's shoulder. "I hope I ain't making the biggest mistake of my life." They had been caught off guard by his statement.

"What are you saying?" Chris asked, with hope and doubt intermingled in his voice.

"I'm not apologizing," he looked at Buck, "but I know where you're coming from." Vin made a fist and put his hand over his mouth for a moment. "I don't know what each of you are thinking, and you don't know what's going on in my head either."

"Is this some kind of game of chance?" Ezra asked, glancing at all the men. "I believe that I can guess. . ."

Vin glared at Ezra until he petered off to silence. "You don't know if I'm making my grocery list or how to kill one of you."

"That wasn't what I would wager on, but I see your point." Ezra sighed. "I could be thinking about Nettie's pot roast or moving to Europe under a pseudonym."

"It's with all men. You don't know the times of complete irrational anger I've had where my wish was destruction." Josiah nodded.

"Running out on everything," Chris added, thinking about Sarah and Adam.

Vin shook his head. "I know there are questions about my life, and I get it that my job is to take people out, but I'm not that fucked up that I'm going dark side."

"We can do better. I'll do better." Wilmington left JD's side and stuck out his hand, which Tanner quickly grasped with both hands.

They all smiled with relief evident in their faces. They had received an opportunity to prove their loyalty. It was a start.

"Nettie's epicurean delight is still waiting for us," Ezra said leading Josiah and Nathan back to the walkway to the house. As each man passed they offered a light slap to Vin's shoulder or a nudge to his arm as a form of 'welcome back.'

"I'm not going to be able to eat it," Buck said as he tentatively moved his jaw around.

Suddenly Chris called out the word, "Time."

"A record Agent Wilmington," Ezra shot back. "You did not complain for exactly 30 seconds

They were coming back into the house. From her spot at the window Nettie took in the casually exchanged physicality. She let the curtain drop back and shuffled into the kitchen; she didn't want them to know she had been eavesdropping on the event unfolding in her front yard.

Men-they beat each other up and then make up like nothing happened. But Nettie couldn't complain she was happy Vin had worked out some sort of truce with himself and the others. Everything was right there at Nettie's house.


	6. Chapter 6

Epilogue

The meal went well, but they were all on their best behavior with Nettie present. Her glances to Vin were reassuring that he had made the right decision. On Saturday he went into the office. He had missed two days of work and did not receive permission from his supervisor to be out. Chris had every right to reprimand him, thankfully guilt and friendship would win out, but Vin did not want to abuse it further.

He started filling out the dates and writing a paragraph on what happened each day. As usual he kept to the facts in short sentences. Report writing was a requirement with the ATF. He didn't excel at it at all. His reports were lackluster in their language, but he was able to be understood and had less to worry about with grammar by keeping it short.

He expected to be in the office for a few hours, leaving the completed paperwork on Chris's desk, then he would review the case materials for Monday. He needed to be prepared. On Sunday he would take Los Lobos out as promised. He wasn't exactly avoiding his friends; he already had plans that provided a convenient excuse. It allowed him to cool down, and think about had happened.

Eli had always been a bastard, but in the field Vin had counted on him and Eli had his back. It made him realize how fragile faith was; having given it to so few people and of those people sometimes he had given his faith because of the situation.

Others had implicit faith in him to watch over them as a sniper, to take care of his friends in Purgatorio, and even Nettie had faith in him. She never questioned his suggestions. But there was this other kind of faith, the one where you just trusted.

That was the sticking point because each of them had different backgrounds and experiences. Vin continued to type away, making decisions with each keystroke.

Monday brought Vin in early as was normal, making his strong coffee to start the day. Chris followed in while he was putting the grounds in, calling out to him before heading into his office. Again, it was a normal occurrence. Josiah came in next, putting his bag down at his desk, greeting Vin, waving to Chris before going into the break room.

Nathan came in carrying his coffee from a local place that he frequented. "How was your weekend? The medic was asking the sharpshooter.

"Took the kids to the zoo," Vin said as he glanced at a file and wrote some notes to prepare for their morning meeting.

"With just you as the chaperone? You should have called. I would have been happy to help wrangle them," Josiah added, lifting his mug. He knew how the kids liked to wander.

Vin shrugged his shoulders. "I managed."

Buck and JD came in with a rumble and JD saying "Shut the fuck up."

"Scout's honor," Buck lifted his hand, but the effect was ruined by the mustached man's laughter.

Chris came out from his office. "Did anyone remind Ezra that we had a meeting this morning?"

Usually, one of them would provide a friendly call to the undercover operative that he needed to be in on time when they were having a meeting. It had fallen to Josiah this time. "I left him a message at home yesterday. Whether he got that message . . ."

"You know he is sitting right there screening his calls," Buck replied as he turned on his computer.

Chris slapped the folder against hand. "JD, give him a call on his cell, and the rest of us will head into the conference room."

It took them a few minutes to file in and JD slipped in taking his seat beside Buck. "He's on his way. Be here in a second, but said if you want then you can start without him."

Chris shook his head. "I hate to repeat myself."

"What?" Buck asked with an innocent expression.

"I said. . ." Chris growled when he caught on. "Pueblo Police found a warehouse full of cigarettes." Chris slid open the file.

"Not, cigarettes. What did one of you do?" Nathan, although a conneseuer of cigars, hated dealing with tobacco part of the ATF. In fact, most of them despised those cases that lacked drama.

JD shrugged his shoulders. "Did they confiscate them?"

"They didn't have the storage room so they contacted us to take care of it for them, and somehow it was our turn to deal with one of these cases," Chris stated. There was an unofficial system whereby the less interesting, grunt work cases were parceled out fairly so that one team would not get more than the others although this was a bone of connection.

The others had already started skimming their files. "So are we doing a pick up run?" Buck asked.

"No, we've been asked to investigate. Two of you want to volunteer?"

Certain areas of Pueblo has a high crime rate with increasing gang activity. It was no wonder that the local police department didn't have the manpower to spare. "I'll go," Vin said.

"I'd like to join Vin," Josiah said with a nod in Vin's direction.

Ezra strode in with his usual confidence. "Did I just miss an awkward moment?"

Chris glared at Ezra instead of providing an answer. Ezra paid no mind and took his seat, reading the file. There was a subtle shift in the room. Vin could sense that Ezra's comment had made them all uncomfortable.

Vin cleared his throat. He figured he had to say something. "In the army and from bounty hunting I tried not to get close to people. Didn't have a good experience with that, but now I expected more from this team." Vin shrugged his shoulders. "I'm still gonna watch your backs like you do for me."

"You taught me something, Brother," Josiah started, but was interrupted by the undercover agent.

"Wonderful, an after school special moment," Ezra groused.

"I've seen your record, all those blank spaces and I'm reminded of what I've seen. Vietnam and then working with kids on the street-the worst of it and what can happen to people." Josiah adjusted his suit jacket. "I got carried away in my perspective."

"I think we all have similar issues," Chris added.

"Tunnel vision," Buck explained further, thinking about how he grew up with his mom who was killed when he was young, about the same age as when JD lost his mom. It made him protective. JD tapped his pen, and Buck silenced it with his hand. "We're having a moment here."

"Moment done. Get back to work." Chris squeezed Vin's shoulder as he passed by. "Come by my office to set up the Pueblo case."

Vin noticed that Ezra was loitering about, and that there was still some hostility between them. "I heard you. The FBI ran you out because of rumors and no one fought for you."

Ezra froze for a moment, then concentrated on his papers. "You should consider yourself lucky, Agent Tanner. And I am on your side."

He didn't want to vocalize that just yet. In time he would feel lucky, or blessed as Josiah liked to put it. "I'll remember that." Vin picked up his papers and headed to Chris's office.

"You settle it with Ezra?" Chris asked as Vin entered the office without looking up from his paperwork."

Vin took a seat in the small couch stuffed into the office. "Enough has been said, I guess."

Chris looked up, relaxing back into his chair with a squeaking noise from the absentminded rocking. "We'll all work on the action part."

Hope. Faith. Courage. Vin thought. Hope for a better tomorrow, faith in yourself and courage to fight your battles. Vin nodded before asking about the Pueblo case.

Really, the end.


End file.
